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Handbooks 


on 


The  Missions  of  the 
Episcopal  Church 


No.  IV 


LIBERIA 


Price  50  Cents 

THE  NATIONAL  COUNCIL 

of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
Department  of  Missions 

281  Fourth  Avenue  -  New  York 

1928 


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Revised  Edition 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/handbooksonmissiOOunse 


FRENCH 


GUINEA 


CAPE  MOUNT 

(ROBERTSPORT 


MONROVIA 

SGHIEFFELLIN 


EDINA^y.  •  DONOVAN  SCHOOL 

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TENE^O*  U  .WOTEKE 
FI5HT 0WN#O  .DRURY// 

M 10  HOFFMAN^  .CUTTINGTON 

.  .Ml.  VAUGHAN 

CAPE  PALMASlpp*  -  ^Cavalla 

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MILES 


HANDBOOK  ON  LIBERIA 


Handbooks 

on 

The  Missions  of  the 
Episcopal  Church 


No.  IV 

LIBERIA 


Price  50  Cents 

THE  NATIONAL  COUNCIL 

of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
Department  of  Missions 

281  Fourth  Avenue  -  New  York 

1928 


\ 


VIEW  FROM  MISSIONARIES’  RESIDENCE,  MASAMBOLAHUN 


lc.  (L  -[/) 


LIBERIA 


r  |  'HE  world  cataclysm  of  1914,  resulting  in  the 
*■“  collapse  of  the  Central  Powers  and  Russia,  shot 
off  from  the  old  organism,  sections  of  the  broken 
empires  and  kingdoms  to  float  helpless  and  pilotless 
in  the  sea  of  nations.  Among  these  shattered  pieces 
were  large  segments  of  Africa — the  Kamerun,  Togo- 
land,  German  East  Africa  and  German  South  West 
Africa — segments  which  had  accrued  to  the  German 
Empire  out  of  the  barterings  and  exchanges  which 
so  largely  characterized  the  partition  of  Africa  by 
the  European  Powers  in  the  final  quarter  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  This  partition — in  reality  an 
international  scramble  for  native  lands  enormously 
rich  in  natural  resources  and  accomplished  under 
the  cloak  of  developing  these  same  natural  resources 
— left  to  the  natives  themselves  but  two  small  slices 
of  territory,  the  ancient  independent  Kingdom  of 
Abyssinia  on  the  east  coast,  and  the  little  Republic 
of  Liberia  on  the  west  coast. 

Out  of  the  cataclysm  which  caused  such  wreckage 
in  the  organization  of  the  world,  there  arose  the 
League  of  Nations  to  which  were  committed  certain 
obligations  and  responsibilities  with  regard  to  back¬ 
ward  races.  Foremost  among  these  responsibilities 
was  the  care  of  the  former  colonial  possessions  of 
the  fallen  empires.  For  this  purpose  the  old  Roman 
system  of  mandates  was  adapted  to  international 
usage.  Under  the  machinery  thus  created,  the  de- 

C  3  '  37430 


pendent  races  ceased  to  be  objects  of  barter  and 
exploitation,  and  were  placed  under  the  trusteeship 
or  tutorship  of  responsible  governments  for  training 
and  guidance  along  the  precarious  and  difficult  road 
toward  national  independence.  They  became,  in 
fact,  wards  for  the  duration  of  their  political  imma¬ 
turity.  When  they  reach  a  state  of  development 
sufficiently  advanced  to  assure  their  position  in  the 
family  of  nations  the  territories  will  assume  their 
rightful  status  as  independent  States. 

That  the  powers  of  the  mandated  territories  might 
not  be  emasculated  during  the  period  of  national 
infancy,  and  that  the  mandatory  power  might  have 
a  guide  by  which  to  regulate  its  actions,  certain 
restrictions  and  regulations  were  imposed  upon  the 
mandatory.  These  restrictions  and  regulations 
afford  a  most  interesting  field  of  study,  but  it  is 
impossible  here  to  do  more  than  enumerate  them 
and  to  let  them  indicate  for  themselves  the  scope  of 
their  powers  and  the  evils  that  they  were  aimed  to 
destroy.  The  section  of  the  Covenant  of  the  League 
of  Nations  pertaining  to  mandates  says  that  certain 
peoples,  notably  those  in  Africa,  were  in  such  a 
stage  of  development  as  to  make  the  mandatory 
“responsible  for  the  administration  of  the  territory 
under  conditions  which  will  guarantee  freedom  of 
conscience  and  religion,  subject  only  to  the  mainte¬ 
nance  of  public  order  and  morals,  the  prohibition 
of  abuses  such  as  the  slave  trade,  the  arms  traffic 
and  the  liquor  traffic,  and  the  prevention  of  the 
establishment  of  fortifications  or  military  and  naval 
bases  and  of  military  training  of  the  natives  for 
other  than  police  purposes  and  the  defence  of  terri- 

[  4  1 


THE  SEA  FROM  ST.  JOHN’S  SCHOOL, 


CAPE  MOUNT 


CREEK  NEAR  BENDU 


MASK  OF  AN  AFRICAN  WITCH  DOCTOR 


tory.”  These  safeguards,  supplemented  by  later 
regulations  prohibiting  other  abuses  such  as  forced 
labor  under  any  guise  whatsoever,  indicate  in  some 
small  measure  how  Africa  has  come  to  be  regarded 
— a  continent  of  tremendous  potentialities ;  the  con¬ 
tinent  of  the  future ;  but,  withal,  a  continent  of  and 
for  the  black  man. 

This  “continent  of  the  future”  with  an  estimated 
population  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  millions, 
about  equal  that  of  the  United  States,  is  four  and  a 
half  times  as  large  as  the  United  States.  It  is  be¬ 
yond  doubt  the  richest  of  the  six  continents.  Its 
natural  wealth  is  enormous :  one-third  of  the  entire 
gold  output  of  the  world  comes  from  Johannesburg- 
alone,  while  there  are  other  rich  gold  fields  in  South 
West  Africa  and  South  East  Africa,  on  the  Congo, 
along  the  Gold  Coast,  and  in  the  Libyan  Desert. 
The  diamond  trade  of  the  world  is  controlled  by  the 
Kimberley  mines.  In  other  minerals — copper,  tin, 
coal — Africa  is  also  rich.  Natural  products  such  as 
timber,  ground  nuts,  palm  oil,  ostrich  feathers,  mo¬ 
rocco  skins,  and  ivory,  Africa  has  in  abundance  and 
vast  areas  of  her  territory  are  adaptable  to  agricul¬ 
ture  and  stock-raising. 

The  question  naturally  arises  why  with  such 
natural  resources,  Africa  has  never  before  broken 
its  bonds  and  emerged  the  foremost  continent  of 
the  world.  A  variety  of  causes,  some  inherent  in 
the  land  itself,  others  incidental,  have  contributed 
toward  retarding  Africa’s  advance.  A  vast  conti¬ 
nent  unknown  and  unexplored  for  centuries  except 
along  its  coasts ;  a  continent  of  great  rivers  arising 
in  the  high  plateau  regions  of  the  interior,  breaking 


[  7  ] 


through  the  barrier  mountain  chains,  and  taking 
their  courses  seaward  through  impenetrable  tropical 
forests;  a  land  sparsely  inhabited  by  primitive  races 
of  mankind  divided  into  innumerable  tribes  in  vary¬ 
ing  stages  of  development,  with  no  common  lan¬ 
guage  of  inter-course,  no  contacts  except  those  of 
inter-tribal  war,  and  no  incentive  to  labor,  no  stimu¬ 
lus  toward  progress,  and  no  initiative, — such  were 
the  primary  factors  in  the  retarded  development  of 
“The  Dark  Continent.”  To  these  natural  draw¬ 
backs,  must  be  added  the  effect  of  the  crude  native 
religion  of  the  African  Negro.  Animistic  heathen¬ 
ism  binds  him  in  a  relentless  fear  of  spirits,  demons, 
and  souls  from  which  his  gods  cannot  save  him. 
He  lives  in  continual  terror,  and  regulates  his  entire 
life  and  conduct  with  a  view  to  a  propitiation  of  the 
awful  spectres  of  his  imagination.  “He  knows  not 
whence  he  cometh,  whither  he  goeth,  or  how  he 
should  demean  himself  upon  the  way.”  It  is  small 
wonder  that  the  native,  surrounded  by  these  cares 
and  devoted  to  trying  to  find  peace  and  content 
amidst  this  mass  of  superstition,  bewilderment,  and 
heathen  falsehood,  should  have  had  little  opportu¬ 
nity  or  desire  to  develop  his  resources. 

But  the  chief  obstacle  of  all  is  the  extraordinary 
silence  of  the  people.  From  “the  Dark  Continent” 
there  comes  no  voice  or  cry.  The  forests  and  the 
waste  places  alike  are  dumb,  shrouded  in  a  silence 
impenetrable  and  all-enveloping,  a  silence  which  the 
foreigner  has  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  breaking- 
through,  and  which  has  made  more  arduous  the 
task  of  unveiling  the  great  resources  of  Africa. 


[  8  ] 


VICAR-GENERAL  OF  THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC 
MISSION  IN  LIBERIA 


MOHAMMEDAN  TEACHER  AND  PUPILS 


1 


BUSH  DANCERS  IN  THE  VAI  COUNTRY  A  NUT-GATHERER 


Among  the  incidental  factors  which  have  con¬ 
tributed  to  the  backwardness  of  the  African  races, 
the  spread  of  Islam  must  be  placed  foremost.  It  is 
often  asserted,  and  with  some  degree  of  truth,  that 
the  effect  of  Mohammedanism  upon  a  purely  heath¬ 
en  and  primitive  people  is  beneficial.  This  is  true  in 
so  far  as  it  displaces  the  intolerable  reign  of  evil 
spirits  by  some  conception  of  the  one  God.  True 
also,  in  its  emphasis  upon  worship,  and  its  theor¬ 
etical  ban  upon  the  use  of  liquor.  But  this  is  about 
as  far  as  the  Moslem  religion  can  proceed  in  dealing 
with  a  backward  race.  And  against  these  benefits 
must  be  placed  the  sensual  license  sanctioned  by  the 
precepts  of  the  Koran ;  its  stimulus  to  the  natural . 
fighting  instinct ;  its  degrading  of  womanhood ;  and 
its  strictures  upon  education.  There  can  be  no 
question  but  that  Islam,  while  it  can  present  to  a 
primitive  people  the  first  upward  steps  toward  prog¬ 
ress,  can  never  enable  them  to  complete  the  ascent. 

For  fourteen  hundred  years  the  flaming  banner 
of  Mohammedanism  has  been  sweeping  over  the 
African  continent  until  today  it  is  an  ever  increasing 
menace.  The  danger  of  Islam,  both  to  the  natives 
themselves  and  to  the  Christian  forces  eager  to 
spread  the  truth  of  the  living  God  over  the  length 
and  breadth  of  Africa,  and  through  Whom  alone 
can  come  the  enlightenment  necessary  to  realize  the 
fulfillment  of  Africa’s  immense  potentialities,  war¬ 
rants  our  pausing  for  a  moment  to  examine  its 
extraordinary  power. 

The  power  of  Islam  lies  in  the  missionary  zeal 
of  its  votaries.  Not  only  is  every  Moslem  a  deter¬ 
mined  and  active  agent  in  the  propagation  of  his 


[  ll  1 


faith  by  example  and  precept,  but  the  whole  body 
of  Islam  has  behind  it  the  force  of  an  absolute  unity 
of  purpose,  and  a  corporate  passion  for  its  ful¬ 
fillment. 

It  is  this  individual  and  corporate  zeal  which 
made  possible  the  Mohammedan  conquest  of  south¬ 
ern  Nyassaland  in  a  single  decade.  It  is  this  enthu¬ 
siasm  which  turns  thousands,  including  the  foremost 
teachers  of  Islam,  toward  Mecca  each  year  for  a 
missionary  conference.  And  what  conferences ! 
Unlike  the  sporadic  gatherings  of  Christian  mis¬ 
sionaries,  such  as  was  the  Edinburgh  Conference, 
these  conferences  at  Mecca  meet  annually  and  con¬ 
duct  their  business  with  precision  and  efficiency. 
It  is  small  wonder  that  these  meetings,  attended  by 
those  seeking  to  translate  their  already  existing  in¬ 
terest  and  enthusiasm  into  terms  of  immediate 
activity,  should  result  in  a  well-nigh  irresistible 
propaganda,  especally  toward  the  great  continent 
which  presents  the  most  favorable  conditions  for  its 
advance,  and  the  one  of  all  others  in  which  Chris¬ 
tendom  has  allowed  a  comparatively  free  field  to 
Islam.  Thus  has  “The  Dark  Continent”  borne  with¬ 
in  itself,  for  centuries,  the  chief  causes  of  its  lack 
of  progress. 

But  what  of  its  external  contacts?  What  effect 
have  these  had  on  its  development?  To  the  early 
European  adventurers  who  explored  the  coast, 
Africa  presented  little  more  than  an  apparently  in¬ 
exhaustible  supply  of  slave  labor  for  the  developing 
colonies  of  the  Spanish  Main.  The  trade  grew  apace, 
and  Arab  slave  dealers  penetrating  farther  and 
farther  into  the  interior,  on  their  persistent  raids  for 


[  12  ] 


“black  ivory,”  brought  about  the  practical  extermi¬ 
nation  of  the  more  accessible  tribes  of  natives.  Thus 
the  first  contacts  of  these  tribes  with  the  outside 
world  served  merely  to  inspire  terror  and  to  drive 
them  back  into  safer  isolation. 

The  nations  of  Europe  were  not  slow  in  recog¬ 
nizing  other  potentialities  of  the  African  continent, 
and  as  the  native  tribes  were  driven  back  or  their 
feeble  resistance  overcome,  their  lands  were  seized 
by  foreigners  and  annexed  as  “Protectorates,”  while 
the  people  themselves  were,  in  too  many  cases, 
drafted  into  a  form  of  enforced  labor  little  better 
than  slavery  itself. 

The  virtual  partition  of  Eastern  and  Southern 
Africa  among  the  European  Powers  did  little  to 
raise  the  status  of  the  native  population ;  but  it  did 
serve  to  exploit  the  rich  natural  resources  of  the 
country  occupied,  and  to  stimulate  further  explora¬ 
tion.  On  the  west,  the  great  Niger  River  gave,  to 
the  French,  access  to  the  vast  territory  south  of  the 
Sahara  Desert,  while  the  Congo  served  as  a  water¬ 
way  for  the  Belgians  to  the  central  regions  of  Equa¬ 
torial  Africa ;  but,  again,  such  access  served  in  no 
degree  to  develop  the  people  discovered  in  the 
process. 

The  horrors  of  the  Belgian  occupation  of  the 
Congo  are  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the  present 
generation,  but  though  these  were  brought  to  light 
and  thereupon  severely  condemned  by  the  whole  of 
Christendom,  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  were  really 
worse  than  the  less  advertised  treatment  of  the 
native  population  generally  throughout  the  occupied 
areas  of  the  continent.  With  the  use  of  the  rivers, 


f  13  1 


the  building  of  railways,  and  the  increase  in  other 
means  of  transportation,  there  came  also  that  curse 
which  has  proved  debasing,  if  not  fatal,  to  every 
primitive  race  in  its  first  contacts  with  Europeans 
— ■alcohol,  in  all  its  varied  forms,  and  with  all  its 
accompanying  vices.  The  extent  to  which  this  curse 
has  retarded  the  development  of  the  native  African, 
otherwise  open  to  civilization,  can  hardly  be  ex¬ 
aggerated. 

Nevertheless  the  dark  picture  of  Africa  has  many 
high  lights  of  promise.  The  early  explorers  and 
pioneers  were  not  all  adventurers  seeking  gain.  One 
remembers  such  names  as  Livingstone  and  Stanley, 
Mackay  and  Hannington,  Coillard  and  Crowther, 
Slessor  and  Ferguson — heroic  souls  who,  amid  in¬ 
conceivable  difficulties,  opened  the  gates  of  Africa 
to  the  triumphant  Christ.  Politically,  too,  the  future 
is  full  of  hope  so  long  as  the  Christian  conscience 
of  the  world  supports  the  mandates  assigned  by  the 
League  of  Nations  for  the  safeguarding  of  human 
rights  in  Africa  and  for  the  upbuilding  of  indepen¬ 
dent  States.  These  mandates  are  widespread ;  but 
their  application  has  been  unnecessary  in  two  out¬ 
standing  cases — Abyssinia  and  Liberia — an  indepen¬ 
dent  native  Kingdom,  and  an  independent  native 
Republic.  It  is  with  the  latter  that  we  are,  at  pres¬ 
ent,  chiefly  concerned. 

In  a  little  corner  of  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  just 
at  the  chin  of  the  lion-like  head  of  the  continent, 
lies  Liberia. 

The  small  Republic  extends  for  about  three  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  miles  along  the  upward  bend,  from 
the  Ivory  Coast  to  Sierra  Leone,  with  irregular 


[  14  ] 


boundary  lines  running  into  the  interior  enclosing 
an  area  of  41,000  square  miles — a  territory  almost 
exactly  the  size  of  the  State  of  Ohio.  To  this  coun¬ 
try  the  Church  in  America  sent  its  first  foreign 
missionary. 

But  before  embarking  on  the  story  of  our  en¬ 
deavors  in  that  small  native  State  —  endeavors 
marked  by  inky  shadows  and  brilliant  lights — it  will 
be  well  to  examine  further  into  the  country,  — 
typical  in  many  respects  of  the  whole  of  the  African 
continent  which  we  have  just  briefly  considered — 
its  beginnings,  peoples,  and  customs. 

Early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  the  American 
Colonization  Society  was  organized  for  the  purpose 

of  establishing  a  home,  in  the  land  of  their  fore- 

% 

fathers,  for  the  American  Negroes  who  had  gained 
their  freedom.  Hence  the  name  Liberia,  which 
was  given  to  the  small  area  at  first  acquired  from 
the  natives  and  later  much  enlarged.  Jehudi 
Ashmun,  an  American,  is  credited  with  the  actual 
founding  of  the  colony  in  1823. 

“The  first,  and  perhaps  the  only,  motive  of  the 
Society  was  to  fulfill  what  they  regarded  as  their 
solemn  duty  to  the  freed  Negroes,  and  to  do  this  in 
a  way  which  they  thought  ought  to  be  most  agree¬ 
able  to  the  Negroes  themselves.”  No  thought,  appar¬ 
ently,  was  given  to  the  conditions  which  would  face 
them  in  a  land  to  which  they  were  native  by  race, 
but  utterly  alien  by  recent  experience. 

A  professor  in  the  University  of  Chicago  who 
has  traveled  extensively  in  Africa,  has  said:  “Take 
any  town  of  12,000  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  Bellaire 
for  example.  Divide  the  people  into  ten  or  twelve 


1  15  ] 


little  settlements  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie ;  now 
put  along  that  shore  about  30,000  ignorant  fisher¬ 
men,  then  fill  the  country  of  Ohio  lying  back  with 
a  million  wild  Indians — and  there  is  the  problem  of 
Liberia.”  For  here  was  a  small  company  of  Negro 
colonists  from  America,  preparing  to  settle  among 
some  thousands  of  native  Africans  half  civilized 
through  contact  with  traders  just  along  the  coast, 
and  back  of  them  for  miles  a  vast  unexplored  region 
inhabited  by  powerful  tribes  of  totally  uncivilized 
heathen.  Nor  did  the  migration  of  freedom  from 
America  ever  attain  the  proportions  fondly  hoped 
for  by  the  Colonization  Society.  Since  the  Civil 
War,  less  than  two  thousand  Negroes  have  availed 
themselves  of  the  opportunity  of  returning  to  the 
land  of  their  fathers,  and  one  hundred  years  after 
the  founding  of  the  colony  the  total  population  of 
Americo-Liberians  was  only  about  twelve  to  fifteen 
thousand. 

As  a  recent  writer  has  said,  “It  does  not  require 
a  vivid  imagination  to  picture  the  tragic  condition 
of  the  earlier  colonists  as  they  arrived  in  the  father- 
land,  and  faced  a  wild  country  to  be  subdued,  savage 
kinsmen  who  were  their  foes,  a  land  without  law, 
and  a  climate  without  kindness.  These  freed  Ne¬ 
groes  were,  by  training  and  experience,  alien  to  the 
natives,  and  strangers  to  their  fatherland.  The  story 
of  those  early  years  must  be  read  elsewhere ;  but 
this  merest  hint  cannot  but  call  forth  sympathy  for 
the  actors  in  the  drama.” 

There  have  always  been  those  who  have  judged 
Liberia  and  Liberians  by  the  standards  of  long- 
established  and  stable  governments,  and  drawn  the 

f  16  1 


conclusion  that  the  Negro,  left  to  himself,  is  inca¬ 
pable  of  a  high  degree  of  social  development.  Such 
conclusions  ignore  the  terriffic  difficulties  with 
which  the  Liberians  were  confronted  from  the  very 
outset.  A  recent  and  well-informed  writer  states 
the  situation  admirably:  a  small  company  of  Ne¬ 
groes  only  lately  out  of  bondage  facing,  in  a  remote 
and  isolated  corner  of  the  earth,  conditions  no  less 
unfriendly  than  did  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  but  with¬ 
out  their  advantage  of  a  thousand  years  of  culture 
and  experience  in  government;  with  no  means  or 
opportunity  for  improvement,  and  no  knowledge  of 
how  to  acquire  such  means;  surrounded,  on  the  one 
hand,  by  savage  and  aggressive  native  tribes,  and, 
on  the  other,  by  the  Colonial  possessions  of  Euro¬ 
pean  powers  ready  on  every  occasion  to  take  advan¬ 
tage  of  their  untutored  simplicity ;  always  financially 
distressed  and  hampered ;  nominally  possessing  rich 
natural  resources,  but  with  neither  the  means  nor 
the  training  to  develop  them ;  so  recently  freed  from 
enforced  labor  under  authority  that  all  manual  labor 
was  scorned  and  everyone  desired  to  rule ;  their 
numbers  added  to  now  and  then  from  America,  but 
more  often  by  hordes  of  captured  slaves  for  whom 
England  and  America,  engaged  in  suppressing  the 
traffic,  could  find  no  more  convenient  dumping- 
ground.* 

The  marvel  is,  not  that  the  Negro  colonists  failed, 
in  a  measure,  to  develop  enlightened  self-govern¬ 
ment,  but  that  they  succeeded  at  all  in  an  environ- 

*See  A  Social  History  of  the  American  Negro,  by  Benjamin 
Brawley.  Chapter  IX. 


[  17  ] 


ment  and  under  conditions  such  as  have  more  than 
once  proved  fatal  to  colonies  of  whites. 

The  wild  country  to  which  the  colonists  went 
consists  of  bold  headlands  and  high  promontories 
near  Cape  Mount  and  Cape  Messurado  with  wide 
undulating  plains  near  Cape  Palmas.  The  whole 
region  covered  with  the  richest  tropical  verdure,  is 
drained  by  the  three  principal  rivers — the  St.  Paul, 
the  St.  John,  and  the  Cavalla ;  the  last  being  navi¬ 
gable  by  small  craft  to  the  falls,  sixty  miles  from 
the  coast.  This  land  of  perpetual  summer  with  al¬ 
ternating  dry  and  rainy  seasons  is,  like  the  rest  of 
the  continent,  rich  in  natural  resources — minerals, 
fruits,  rubber,  palm  oil,  cane ;  while  in  the  forests  are 
trees  capable  of  yielding  valuable  lumber  and  dye¬ 
stuffs,  and  the  whole  land  abounds  in  animal  life. 

For  twenty-five  years  the  Colonization  Society 
directed  the  colonial  policies  in  this  strange  new 
land,  until,  in  1847,  the  colonists  declared  Liberia, 
with  a  government  modeled  after  that  of  their  native 
America,  free  and  self-governing.  Great  Britain  and 
France  promptly  recognized  the  new  State,  but  it 
was  not  until  1862  that  the  United  States  did  like¬ 
wise.  Since  then,  the  Republic  of  Liberia  has  held 
its  unique  position  among  the  nations  of  the  world, 
though  frequently  it  has  had  to  submit  to  the  un¬ 
scrupulous  aggressions,  veiled  under  the  guise  of 
“ancient  claims,”  of  European  Powers.  In  that  way 
the  infant  Republic  lost  some  of  her  valuable  border 
territories. 

When  in  1821,  the  Domestic  and  Foreign  Mis¬ 
sionary  Society  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
was  formed,  the  growing  colony  of  freed  Negroes 

[  18  ] 


THE  MISSION  AT  MT.  VAUGHAN,  IN  1838 
From  an  early  engraving 


HARPER,  CAPE  PALMAS 
From  an  early  water-color 


VIEW  OF  MT.  VAUGHAN  AND  HARBOR 
From  an  early  water-color 


in  Liberia  seemed  to  offer  a  splendid  opportunity 
for  the  foreign  missionary  endeavors  of  the  new 
Society.  This  choice  of  a  field  seemed  particularly 
advantageous,  for  several  of  the  leaders  of  the 
American  Colonization  Society  as  well  as  that  So¬ 
ciety’s  agent  in  Liberia,  Mr.  Ephraim  Bacon,  were 
Churchmen  and  interested  in  the  extension  of  the 
Church’s  influence  and  work.  In  fact,  Mr.  Bacon, 
was  so  eager  to  advance  the  Church’s  work  that  he 
severed  his  connections  with  the  American  Coloni¬ 
zation  Society  and  offered  himself  as  a  missionary. 
His  application,  together  with  that  of  his  wife,  was 
accepted,  and  they  were  appointed  in  May,  1822.  In 
order  to  make  more  secure  their  future  work,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bacon  spent  the  months  immediately  suc¬ 
ceeding  their  appointment  in  travel  throughout  the 
eastern  United  States  in  an  endeavor  to  arouse  in¬ 
terest  and  to  obtain  funds  for  their  work.  To  this 
end,  about  $1,800  and  a  considerable  amount  of 
equipment  were  received.  When,  however,  the  time 
came  for  sailing,  the  American  Colonization  Society 
upon  whom  the  Board  had  been  relying  for  the 
transportation  of  its  workers,  refused  the  use  of  its 
ships  for  either  missionaries  or  their  goods.  This 
abruptly  brought  to  a  halt  the  beginning  of  a  work 
which  had  promised  so  much.  After  five  years  of 
effort  to  establish  the  work,  the  Foreign  Committee 
of  the  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society 
again  appointed  a  worker  to  the  African  field.  This 
time  its  appointee  was  a  young  colored  candidate 
for  Holy  Orders  in  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut, 
Jacob  Oson.  But  misfortune  again  visited  the  enter- 


r  21  ] 


prise  for  between  his  ordination,  in  February,  1828, 
and  the  date  set  for  his  sailing,  Mr.  Oson  died. 

Although  in  the  years  that  followed,  the  Foreign 
Committee  received  various  applications  for  service, 
the  candidates  were  not  of  such  a  quality  as  to  war¬ 
rant  their  appointment  and  so  it  was  not  until  June, 
1835,  that  the  Committee  was  again  able  to  secure 
a  representative  in  the  Liberian  field.  This  time  the 
appointment  fell  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  M.  Thomp¬ 
son,  colored,  who  were  already  resident  in  the 
colony,  having  emigrated  from  Connecticut  in  1831. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  appointment  came  as  a 
result  of  information  furnished  the  Committee  by 
Governor  James  Flail  of  the  Cape  Palmas  Colony 
that  there  was  a  movement  on  foot  to  organize  a 
religious  society  under  the  name  of  St.  James’ 
Church,  Monrovia.  To  this  new  Church  which 
wished  to  be  associated  with  the  American  Episco¬ 
pal  Church,  Mr.  Thompson  was  acting  as  lay-reader 
at  the  time  of  his  appointment.  Simultaneously 
with  the  appointment  a  small  appropriation  was 
made  and  a  school  to  be  known  later  as  Hoffman 
Institute,  was  built  at  Mount  Vaughan  and  opened, 
in  1836,  with  five  boys  and  two  girls.  It  did  not 
seem  wise  at  the  outset  to  leave  the  whole  responsi¬ 
bility  for  the  Mission  in  the  hands  of  the  colonists. 
Moreover,  the  appointment  of  a  white  missionary  to 
Liberia  was  deemed  advisable  in  order  to  keep  the 
Church  at  home  in  contact  with  the  Mission.  To 
this  end,  the  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Savage,  a  volunteer 
from  Connecticut,  was  appointed  to  the  Liberian 
field.  He  had  the  advantage  of  a  thorough  medical 
training,  and  was  further  noteworthy  as  the  first 

[  22  1 


MONROVIA 


FROM  THE  LAGOON 


OLD  STREET  SCENE,  MONROVIA 


PREPARING  COTTON  FOR  SPINNING 


i3|qpB»  “ 

Q  M i 

Tm  £ 

*-  >  f**~  O 

Slfc*  ®2§8&$»  'tW^gF^u 

’f .  |T 2§j 

n./ 

PREPARING  RICE  FIELD  FOR  PLANTING 


white  missionary  sent  by  onr  Church  to  a  foreign 
field. 

The  next  year  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  John  Payne 
and  the  Rev.  Lancelot  B.  Minor,  of  Virginia,  ar¬ 
rived,  followed  by  others  in  fairly  quick  succession. 
For  a  decade  these  devoted  servants  of  our  Lord, 
battling  with  an  unhealthy  tropical  climate  and  amid 
the  petty  tribal  jealousies  and  intrigues  between 
natives  and  colonists  which  seriously  impeded  the 
progress  of  their  work  and  enhanced  its  difficulties, 
labored  steadfastly  to  establish  the  faith  of  the 
colonists  and  to  spread  the  Gospel  among  the  neigh¬ 
boring  natives.  In  1849,  the  staff  was  increased 
by  a  number  of  workers,  among  them  the  Rev. 
C.  C.  Hoffman ;  and  good  progress  was  made  at 
the  main  stations — Mt.  Vaughan,  Cape  Palmas  and 
Half-Cavalla — and  new  ones  were  opened  at  Taboo, 
a  town  some  little  distance  east  of  Cape  Palmas, 
and  at  Rockbookah,  the  capital  of  the  Babo  tribe. 
But  the  work  was  totally  devoid  of  Episcopal  over¬ 
sight,  and  it  became  increasingly  apparent  that  this 
lack  would  have  to  be  supplied,  if  the  Mission  was 
to  resist  the  dangers  arising  from  unsettled  political 
conditions  such  as,  at  one  time,  threatened  the  com¬ 
plete  destruction  of  the  Mission.  The  need  was 
further  emphasized  by  the  inroads  made,  through 
sickness  and  death,  upon  the  Mission  staff.  At  its 
meeting  in  1850,  General  Convention  elected  as 
“Bishop  of  Cape  Palmas  and  Parts  Adjacent,”  the 
Rev.  John  Payne  who  had  served  the  Church  in 
Liberia  since  1837.  Trinity  Church  in  New  York 
City  immediately  gave  five  thousand  dollars  toward 
the  endowment  of  the  new  Episcopate,  and  in  the 


[  25  ] 


following  year  Mr.  Payne  returned  to  the  United 
States  for  his  consecration  which  took  place  on 
July  11,  1851,  in  St.  Paul’s  Church,  Alexandria,  Vir¬ 
ginia.  The  Bishop  returned  at  once  to  the  field, 
'  accompanied  by  five  new  workers.  On  Christmas 
Day,  1852,  exactly  sixteen  years  after  the  coming  of 
the  first  white  missionary  to  Liberia,  Bishop  Payne 
confirmed  a  class  of  twenty-five  candidates  at  St. 
j  Mark’s  Church,  Cape  Palmas. 

At  the  beginning  of  Bishop  Payne’s  Episcopate 
there  were’  four  mission  stations — Cape  Palmas, 
Cavalla,  Rockbookah  and  Taboo — and  feeling  that 
the  Church  in  Liberia  was  firmly  established,  the 
Bishop  made  plans  for  beginning  work  at  Monrovia, 
the  capital  of  the  Republic,  where  the  corner  stone 
of  Trinity  Church  was  laid  in  1854.  Work  was  also 
started  at  Bassa  Cove,  sixty  miles  southeast  of 
Monrovia,  and  at  Sinoe,  a  populous  settlement  about 
,  halfway  between  Bassa  Cove  and  Cape  Palmas.  In 
the  years  which  followed  Bishop  Payne  skillfully 
guided  and  enlarged  the  enterprises  of  thq  Church, 
and,  it  is  probably  true  to  say  that  seldom  in  the 
history  of  missionary  enterprise  has  there  been  so 
much  of  heroism,  and  of  tragedy,  bravely  and  quiet¬ 
ly  and  naturally  endured,  as  in  this  Liberian  Mis¬ 
sion  during  the  period  of  twenty  years  which  Bishop 
Payne’s  Episcopate  covered  and  in  the  thirteen  pre¬ 
ceding  it.  It  is  rightly  called  the  “Period  of  Estab¬ 
lishment”  when,  at  the  cost  of  quite  one-fourth  of 
the  splendid  lives  devoted  to  the  cause,  the  founda¬ 
tion  of  the  native  Church  was  firmly  laid  both  to 
resist  every  shock  of  heathen  attack  and  to  offer  its 


[  26  ] 


THE  RT.  REV.  JOHN  PAYNE,  D.D 
First  Bishop  of  Liberia,  1851-1871 


AN  AFRICAN  HARP 


NATIVE  SALESMEN 


strength  to  the  super-structure  of  the  native  living 
Temple  of  God. 

“The  call  upon  faith  and  zeal,  so  peremptory  in 
Bishop  Payne’s  life,  was  echoed  to  the  Church  at 
home.  The  answer  came  in  the  persons  of  both 
white  and  colored  volunteers ;  among  them,  the  Rev. 
Eli  W.  Stokes,  and  the  Rev.  Thomas  A.  Pinckney, 
both  of  them  Negro  priests.”  In  1853,  the  staff  of 
Negro  clergy  was  greatly  strengthened  by  the  com¬ 
ing  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Crummell,  whose  father 
was  a  native  of  the  Gold  Coast. 

It  had  been  the  consistent  policy  of  Bishop  Payne 
that  the  Liberian  Church  should  develop  its  own 
pastors,  and  toihis  end  the  Government  supplied  an 
opportunity  in  the  establishment  of  the  Liberian 
College  of  which  Dr.  Crummell  was  a  distinguished 
professor.  Throughout  its  history,  College  and 
Church  have  been  closely  associated  in  developing 
the  Republic.  Already,  through  the  schools  which 
had  gradually  grown  in  number  as  in  attendance, 
the  boys  and  girls  had  been  preparing  to  take  their 
places  in  the  College,  and  as  teachers  and  guides 
and  pastors  of  their  people.  The  coming  of  Stokes, 
Crummell  and  Pinckney  and  their  Christian  wives, 
furnished  models  in  racial  kind  to  both  boys  and 
girls,  though  Mrs.  Thompson,  widow  of  the  first 
lay-reader,  had  long  been  a  wholesome  example. 
In  1853,  news  reached  home  of  the  admission  of 
two  candidates  for  Holy  Orders  from  among  the 
natives — Ku  Sia,  who,  upon  Baptism,  had  received 
the  name,  Clement  F.  Jones;  and  Mu  Su,  re-named 
John  Musu  Minor.  These  men,  ordained  on  Easter, 
April  16th,  1854,  were  the  first  products  of  the 


[  29  ] 


Liberian  Church  Schools,  and  from  that  time  the 
ranks  of  the  native  clergy  were  slowly  but  steadily 
re-enforced.  These  ordinations  had  been  preceded 
by  the  first  ordination  to  take  place  in  Liberia,  that 
of  Mr.  Garretson  W.  Gibson,  an  Americo-Liberian 
who  had  been  made  deacon  on  January  15,  1854. 

Thus  far,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  title  ap¬ 
plied  to  Bishop  Payne,  the  jurisdiction  had  been 
confined  to  the  coastal  parts  of  Liberia,  and  particu¬ 
larly  the  southern  portion  of  the  Republic  ;  but  in 
1855  the  Board  of  Missions  in  New  York,  through 
its  Foreign  Committee,  took  the  following  action, 
which  changed  the  entire  status  of  the  work  in 
Liberia.  “Resolved :  That  the  whole  extent  of  the 
American  Colonial  Settlements  in  Western  Africa, 
including  the  State  of  Liberia  and  the  colony  of 
Cape  Palmas,  is  considered  as  a  missionary  station 
occupied  by  this  Committee.”  From  this  time  on, 
the  Mission  of  the  Church  was  no  longer  the  Cape 
Palmas  Colony  and  its  near  neighborhood,  but  was 
co-terminous  with  the  whole  Republic  of  Liberia. 

With  this  change  in  the  status  of  the  Mission  it 
may  be  interesting  to  note  its  progress  as  reviewed 
in  the  Cavalla  Messenger  of  that  year  (1855)  :  “It  is 
just  nineteen  years  last  Christmas  Day  since  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Savage  formally  opened  the  mission  at 
Mt.  Vaughan,  in  the  only  building  connected  with 
it  and  that  but  half  finished.  On  that  day  only 
about  a  half-dozen  communicants,  if  so  many,  were 
in  connection  with  the  Episcopal  Church.  Since 
then,  ‘through  the  good  hand  of  our  God  upon  us,’ 

/the  Mission  has  established  permanent  stations,  of 
greater  or  less  efficiency,  at  fourteen  different  places, 


[  30  ] 


amongst  colonists  and  natives.  It  has  expended  for 
churches,  Mission  houses,  and  school  houses,  a  sum 
not  less  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  In  the 
day  and  boarding  schools  sustained  by  it,  not  fewer 
than  three  thousand  children  and  adults  have  re¬ 
ceived  the  rudiments  of  a  Christian  education.  From 
six,  the  communicants — partly  now  living,  partly 
dead,  foreign,  colonists,  and  natives — have  num¬ 
bered  at  least  three  hundred.  The  number  at  the 
present  time  is  two  hundred  and  forty-one.  The 
blessed  Gospel  is  preached  regularly  to  four  colonist 
congregations,  in  some  twenty  different  tribes  and 
to  one  hundred  thousand  people.  There  are  now, 
Including  the  Orphan  Asylum,  seven  commodious 
Mission  houses,  three  churches  completed  and  a 
fourth  nearly  so — two  being  of  stone,  one  brick, 
and  one  wood — besides  one  very  superior  school 
house  and  several  more  indifferent,  for  colonists  and 
natives.  A  more  sufficient  cause  of  thankfulness 
still  is  to  be  found  in  the  number  and  character  of 
the  schools  connected  with  the  Mission.  The  high 
school  and  female  day-school  at  Mt.  Vaughan;  the 
Orphan  Asylum  at  Harper  (Cape  Palmas)  ;  the 
native  schools  at  Fishtown,  Rocktown,  Cape  Palmas, 
Cavalla.  Hening  Station,  Rockbookah  and  Taboo; 
the  boarding  and  colonist-day-school  at  Bassa  Cove, 
the  Female  High  School  at  Monrovia,  and  the  native 
boarding  and  colonist-day-school  at  Clay  Ashland, 
give  evidence  of  earnest  and  well  directed  effort  to 
diffuse  Christian  instruction  throughout  the  bounds 
of  the  Mission.” 

The  year  1855,  also  marked  the  meeting  of  the 
first  Convocation  which  was  held  at  Cape  Palmas 


[  31  ] 


in  August.  This  gave  an  added  impetus  to  the 
work,  and  the  years  which  immediately  followed 
were  very  encouraging  as  indicating  the  desire  to 
reach  the  unevangelized  tribes  of  the  interior.  In 
1857,  Bishop  Payne,  encouraged  by  an  appropriation 
of  a  few  hundred  dollars  by  the  Foreign  Committee 
and  of  a  bequest  of  $25,000  from  Mrs.  Jane  Bohlen 
took  steps  to  open  a  new  station  about  seventy  miles 
inland,  around  the  Falls  of  Cavalla.  The  site  chosen 
was  Nitielu,  the  capital  of  the  Webo  tribe,  and  the 
centre  of  a  population  of  over  30,000  natives.  A 
native  catechist  was  established  there  until  buildings 
could  be  erected  and  a  white  missionary  provided. 

The  next  year,  with  the  addition  of  a  missionary 
physician  to  the  staff,  a  much  needed  hospital,  St. 
Mark’s  was  begun  at  Cape  Palmas.  Unfortunately, 
however,  many  adverse  conditions,  including  the 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  in  America,  brought  all 
of  this  advance  work  to  a  sudden  halt. 

The  years  of  the  Civil  War  in  America  were 
especially  trying,  since  revenues  from  the  Mother 
Church  were  much  decreased.  Work  had  to  be  cur- 
,  tailed.  Yet,  through  all  the  trials,  the  laborers  in 
the  field,  missionaries,  catechists  and  teachers,  re¬ 
mained  steadfast  under  the  leadership  of  Bishop 
Payne  who  saw  clearly  that  the  hope  of  the  Liberian 
Church  lay  in  the  gradual  development  of  the  will 
and  ability  to  become  self-supporting,  and  the 
arousing  of  missionary  zeal  toward  the  unevangel¬ 
ized  tribes  of  the  interior. 

In  1862,  the  Bishop  wrote,  “We  endeavor  always 
to  impress  upon  our  native  converts  that  the  lesson 
God  means  to  teach  them,  by  the  troubles  in  Amer- 

[  32  ] 


ica,  is  to  exert  themselves  for  their  own  support  and 
that  of  the  Gospel  in  their  midst.  And  they  feel 
and  acknowledge  the  situation.” 

That  the  situation  was  indeed  felt  and  acknowl¬ 
edged  was  evident  at  several  points.  The  colonist 
population  at  Cape  Palmas  enlarged  St.  Mark’s 
Church  at  their  own  expense,  and  the  congregation 
at  Monrovia  contributed  $300  for  the  erection  of  a 
chapel  at  Caldwell  and  several  hundred  dollars  for 
the  repair  of  their  own  church. 

In  the  midst  of  these  lights  and  shadows,  the 
year  1862  marked  the  strengthening  of  the  organi¬ 
zation.  The  widely  scattered  missions  were  brought 
into  a  more  compact  oneness  by  the  formation  of  a 
General  Missionary  Convocation  which  held  its  ini¬ 
tial  meeting  at  St.  Mark’s  Church,  Cape  Palmas.  For 
convenience  of  administration,  the  Convocation  des¬ 
ignated  five  missionary  districts  which,  later,  were 
reduced  to  four,  i.e.  (1)  the  Cape  Palmas  district; 
(2)  the  Bassa  District;  (3)  the  Sinoe  District;  and, 
(4)  the  Montserrado  District.*  Thus  efforts  were 
begun  to  bring  the  whole  Church  together  in  con¬ 
ference  and  mutual  communion  at  stated  times. 

“Before  the  close  of  the  trying  War  period,  the 
Mission  sustained  the  loss  of  one  of  its  most  effi¬ 
cient  workers,  Mrs.  James  M.  Thompson,  who,  for 
twenty-eight  years  had  taught  in  our  Mission 
schools.”  Her  death  caused  great  sorrow  in  the 
entire  community. 

Another  loss  to  the  Mission  was  the  death  in  the 
following  year  (1865)  of  the  Rev.  C.  Colden  Hoff- 

*For  details  see  The  Spirit  of  Missions,  August,  1862,  Vol.  27, 
pp.  248  ff. 


[  33  ] 


man,  who  for  sixteen  years  had  labored  in  Liberia. 
In  advising  the  Board  of  Mr.  Hoffman’s  death, 
Bishop  Payne  wrote :  “This  event  will  sadden  the 
hearts  of  thousands,  and  fall  like  a  thunderclap  on 
the  Church,  as  it  did  on  the  Mission  and  the  com¬ 
munity  he  so  much  honored  and  in  which  he  was 
so  much  beloved.  But  none  like  those  associated 
with  him  in  his  labor  of  love  could  so  highly  appre¬ 
ciate  him  or  feel  so  deeply  his  loss — Our  beloved 
Barnabas — ‘the  wise,  ready  counsellor,  the  constant 
loving  friend,  the  perfectly  consecrated  Christian 
minister,  the  zealous  ever-active,  able,  single-minded 
missionary,  the  dear  fellow  laborer  in  the  Gospel, 
delighting  above  all  things,  to  sound  it  out’  accord¬ 
ing  to  grace  given  him,  to  every  creature ;  we  as 
a  Mission  mourn  a  loss  never  before  experienced.” 

In  1869,  after  thirty-one  years  of  devoted  labor 
in  foundation-building,  Bishop  Payne  found  him¬ 
self  obliged,  by  ill  health,  to  withdraw  from  the 
field.  Two  years  later,  because  of  continued  dis¬ 
ability,  the  Bishop  tendered  his  resignation  to  Gen¬ 
eral  Convention  meeting  at  Baltimore  in  October, 
1871.  Simply  and  modestly  he  gave  the  following 
account  of  his  stewardship. 

“To  the  praise  of  His  grace,  God  has  prospered 
the  work  of  my  hands  as  well  as  prolonged  my  days. 
At  my  own  station  (Cavalla)  I  have  baptized  352 
persons,  of  whom  187  were  adults.  In  the  Mission 
I  have  confirmed  643  persons.  I  have  lived  to  or¬ 
dain  Deacons — two  foreign,  eight  Liberians,  four 
natives — in  all,  fourteen ;  of  Presbyters,  three  for¬ 
eign,  seven  Liberians,  one  Native — in  all,  eleven; 
or,  altogether,  twenty-five  ordinations  have  been 


[  34  ] 


held.  And  at  twenty-two  places  along  250  miles 
of  what  was,  fifty  years  ago,  a  most  barbarous 
heathen  coast,  has  the  Church  been  planted,  and 
radiating  points  for  the  light  of  the  Gospel  estab¬ 
lished.  Nine  churches*  may  be  considered  estab¬ 
lished  and  supplied  with  ministers  of  the  country. 
Besides  schools,  common  and  Sunday,  we  have  a 
High  School  for  boys,  a  Training  School  for  young 
men,  and  an  Orphan  Asylum  to  take  care  of  desti¬ 
tute  children  in  the  colonies.  The  Church  and  Mis¬ 
sion  by  God’s  blessing,  may  be  considered  estab¬ 
lished.” 

The  General  Convention  which  accepted  Bishop 
Payne’s  resignation  did  not  elect  his  successor.  This 
created  a  very  serious  situation,  for  it  laid  upon  the 
only  remaining  white  missionary,  the  Rev.  John  G. 
Auer,  practically  the  whole  burden  of  oversight. 
Mr.  Auer  had  come  to  the  American  Mission  early 
in  1862  from  the  Accra  Mission  of  the  German 
Lutheran  Church  in  the  Gold  Coast  colony,  and 
had  been  ordained  to  the  priesthood  on  Easter  Day 
of  that  year.  Immediately  upon  his  ordination,  he 
had  been  placed  in  charge  of  the  Bohlen  Station, 
and  for  ten  years  did  a  good  work  there  and  at 
the  school  for  boys  which,  it  will  be  remembered, 
had  been  started  in  1836  at  Mount  Vaughan,  near 
Cape  Palmas.  In  1868,  this  school  was  moved  to 
a  new  site,  at  Cavalla,  twelve  miles  distant  from 
Mount  Vaughan,  and  received  from  Mr.  Auer  the 

*These  included:  St.  Mark’s  Church,  Cape  Palmas,  completed 
1851;  Church  of  the  Epiphany,  Cavalla,  corner  stone  laid  1851; 
Grace  Church,  Clay  Ashland,  erected  1853;  Trinity  Church,  Mon¬ 
rovia,  corner  stone  laid  1854;  St.  James’  Church,  Hoffman  Station, 
erected  1858;  St.  Andrew’s  Church,  Bassa,  corner  stone  laid,  1870. 

[  35  ] 


name  Hoffman  Institute.  He  was  also  in  charge 
of  the  stations  at  Fishtown,  Rocktown,  Springhill, 
Nitielu  and  Graway.  The  additional  tasks  placed 
upon  him  by  the  withdrawal  of  Bishop  Payne 
proved  too  heavy  a  burden.  His  health  broke  down 
and  he  was  forced  to  resign  in  1872.  A  few  months 
after  his  resignation  and  return  to  Germany,  he 
was  elected  Bishop  of  Cape  Palmas  and  parts  ad¬ 
jacent  by  the  House  of  Bishops  meeting  in  New 
York.  Mr.  Auer  was  a  very  sick  man  at  the  time 
of  his  election  but  he  promptly  responded  to  the 
call  and  returned  at  once  to  the  United  States  where 
he  was  consecrated  at  St.  John’s  Church,  George¬ 
town,  D.  C.,  on  April  17,  1873.  The  new  Bishop 
returned  to  his  jurisdiction  late  in  the  same  year  and 
immediately  began  infusing  new  life  into  the  mis¬ 
sionary  activities  which  had  languished  for  want  of 
Episcopal  supervision.  But  the  strain  had  been  too 
great,  both  before  and  after  his  elevation  to  the 
Episcopate,  and  he  died  on  February  16,  1874,  less 
than  a  year  after  his  consecration.  He  had  been 
active  right  up  to  his  death ;  the  day  before  he  died 
he  had  confirmed  a  class  of  fifteen  persons. 

As  soon  as  news  of  Bishop  Auer’s  death  reached 
America,  the  Foreign  Committee  designated  May 
31,  1874,  as  a  day  of  memorial  services  in  the 
Church  at  large,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Trinity 
Church,  Monrovia,  had  recently  been  destroyed  by 
fire,  the  Foreign  Committee  issued  an  appeal  for 
funds  to  rebuild  the  church  as  a  permanent  memo¬ 
rial  to  Bishop  Auer.  Again  Liberia  was  without 
a  bishop,  and  the  proposal  was  made  to  Bishop 
Payne  that  he  revisit  the  scene  of  his  early  labors ; 

[  36  ] 


THE  RT.  REV.  JOHN  G.  AUER,  D.D.  THE  RT.  REV.  CHARLES  C.  PENICK,  D.D. 

Second  Bishop  of  Liberia,  1873-1874  Third  Bishop  of  Liberia,  1877-1883 


SURF-BOATING  NEAR  MONROVIA 


but  his  health  was  too  precarious,  and  he  was  forced 
to  refuse.  A  few  months  later  he  died  at  his  Vir¬ 
ginian  home. 

During  the  following  two  years,  the  Mission  de¬ 
prived  of  Episcopal  oversight,  hampered  everywhere 
by  lack  of  money  for  repairs  and  upkeep,  and  dis¬ 
turbed  by  recurrent  hostilities  between  the  Grebos 
and  the  Liberian  Government,  barely  held  its  own 
under  a  few  recently  recruited  white  leaders  assisted 
by  the  small  group  of  faithful  Negro  clergy  cate 
chists,  and  teachers,  but  who  with  the  inadequate 
facilities  available  could  not  have  been  more  than 
partially  trained.  A  change  in  policy  advocated  by 
the  Foreign  Committee  involved  the  discontinuance 
of  work  at  Sinoe,  Bassa,  and  Montserrado  Counties, 
but  new  work  was  begun  at  Cape  Mount.  In  1876, 
the  House  of  Bishops,  meeting  at  Philadelphia, 
elected  the  Rev.  Charles  Clifton  Penick,  D.D.,  rector 
of  the  Church  of  the  Messiah,  Baltimore,  as  Mis¬ 
sionary  Bishop  of  Cape  Palmas  and  Parts  Adjacent. 
He  was  consecrated  on  February  13th,  1877,  at  St. 
Paul’s  Church,  Alexandria,  Virginia,  which  it  will 
be  remembered  was  also  the  scene  of  the  conse¬ 
cration  of  Bishop  Payne. 

Bishop  Penick  arrived  in  his  new  field  in  October, 
and,  two  months  later,  returned  this  message  to  the 
Church  at  home,  which  sounds  discouraging  enough  : 
“I  find  the  American  Mission  confusion  worse  con¬ 
founded.  The  work  here  has  been  so  long  with¬ 
out  any  head  that  the  disorder  is  very,  very  great. 
Every  building  connected  with  the  Mission  is  tum¬ 
bling  to  pieces.  I  can  put  my  foot  through  the 
rotten  floor  in  the  room  where  I  now  write,  and 


[  39  ] 


it  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  house,  and  the  house  as 
good  as  any  in  the  Mission.  Books  are  all  moulded 
and  bug-eaten  to  worthlessness ;  furniture  eaten  to 
honeycomb ;  records  like  autumn  leaves,  only  not 
so  close  together ;  no  school  system,  no  educational 
system ;  not  the  first  move  towards  self-support ; 
many  changes  and  old  questions  to  be  settled,  and 
not  enough  clergy  to  form  a  court.” 

In  the  face  of  this  discouraging  outlook  the 
Bishop  took  some  courage  from  the  fact  that  he 
found  three  hundred  from  the  heathen  tribes  who 
could  read  God’s  word ;  and  some  twenty-five  young- 
men  who  could  teach  their  country-men  to  read. 
Eighteen  of  these  young  teachers  were  at  as  many 
schools ;  at  Cavalla,  ninety  scholars  were  enrolled ; 
the  Orphan  Asylum  at  Cape  Palmas  was  caring  for 
twelve  young  girls  with  manifest  results  in  minds 
and  lives. 

This  indicated  in  some  small  measure  the  lines 
along  which  the  Bishop  should  proceed  to  re-estab¬ 
lish  the  work  which  had  so  severely  suffered  from 
lack  of  supervision.  Consequently,  he  promptly  in¬ 
augurated  a  thorough  system  of  instruction,  the  first 
step  of  which  was  the  appointment  of  a  superin¬ 
tendent  of  schools  whose  duty  it  was  to  visit  the 
schools  and  see  that  the  teachers  were  faithful  and 
diligent  in  their  work. 

The  plan  also  called  for  the  establishment  of  a 
coffee-farm  in  conjunction  with  each  of  the  Mis¬ 
sion  schools,  the  profits  from  which,  it  was  hoped, 
would  make  each  school  self-supporting  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years. 

It  was  very  difficult  to  carry  out  these  and  other 

[  40  ] 


COOKING  TN  LIBERIA 


THE  CLUB  OR  STRANGERS’  HOUSE  IN  A  VAI  VILLAGE 


MAKING  PALM  OIL 


NATIVE  POTTER 


plans  because  much  of  the  work  of  Bishop  Penick’s 
predecessors,  especially  that  at  Mt.  Vaughan,  Boh- 
len  Station  and  elsewhere,  had  so  thoroughly  de¬ 
cayed  as  to  leave  no  trace.  In  this  situation,  the 
Bishop  was  greatly  handicapped  by  an  inadequate 
supply  of  both  men  and  materials.  Some  help  came, 
however,  from  the  President  of  Liberia  who  gave 
the  Missions  thirty  acres  of  land  near  Cape  Mount. 
Late  in  March,  1878,  Bishop  Penick  accompanied  by 
a  few  of  his  helpers  went  to  Cape  Mount  to  select 
the  offered  land.  He  chose  a  beautiful  site  lying  at 
the  north  end  of  the  Cape  on  a  plateau  four  hun¬ 
dred  feet  above  the  sea  and  overlooking  it  and 
Robertsport  Lake.  The  place  was  immediately 
cleared  of  brush  and  trees  and  the  ground  pre¬ 
pared  for  farming  purposes  and  the  erection  of 
buildings.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  work  which 
later  developed  into  St.  John’s  Mission. 

In  1882,  strenuous  work  and  the  African  climate 
broke  down  the  health  of  the  Bishop  and  forced 
him  to  leave  his  jurisdiction.  The  next  year,  find¬ 
ing  his  hope  to  return  groundless,  he  tendered  his 
resignation  which  was  accepted  by  the  House  of 
Bishops.  “Bishop  Penick’s  noteworthy  contribution 
to  the  Church  and  people  of  Liberia  consisted  in  the 
practical  industries  and  the  business  system  intro¬ 
duced  at  the  moment  when  these  became  practicable. 
He  was  a  spiritual  power  always  both  as  preacher 
and  pastor,”  and  in  a  farewell  letter  to  his  people  he 
wrote :  “Give  all  diligence  to  raise  up  a  true  and 
courageous  ministry.  Seek  out  your  truest  and  best, 
and  set  them  over  the  things  of  the  Lord.  So  shall 
He  bless  you  richly  in  all  things.” 


[  43  ] 


The  statistics,  at  the  close  of  Bishop  Penick’s 
Episcopate,  are  thus  given:  “Total  average  attend¬ 
ance  in  the  churches,  1,063;  number  of  communi¬ 
cants,  567 ;  attendance  at  Day  and  Boarding  Schools, 
392;  at  Sunday  Schools,  719.  Total  number  of 
agents  employed,  including  the  Bishop,  8  presbyters, 
5  deacons,  and  others  engaged  in  the  Mission  staff, 
57.” 

“So  closes  for  the  time  being,  the  succession  of 
bishops  of  an  alien  race  in  Liberia.  Against  this 
time,  God  had  been  preparing  a  great  Negro  leader 
for  His  Church.  After  a  trying  vacancy  of  three 
years  in  the  Liberian  Episcopate,  the  Rev.  Samuel 
D.  Ferguson,  rector  of  St.  Mark’s  Church,  Harper 
(Cape  Palmas),  was  elected  bishop,”  on  April  23, 
1884,  and  was  consecrated,  the  following  year,  in 
I  Grace  Church,  New  York.  He  was  the  first  Negro 
\  of  our  Church  to  be  consecrated  as  bishop.* 

“Bishop  Ferguson  was  born  in  Charleston,  S.  C., 
on  January  1st,  1842;  and,  while  ill,  was  baptized  by 
Bishop  Gadsden  of  South  Carolina,  at  the  request  of 
his  Roman  Catholic  mother.  In  1848,  the  family 
moved  to  Liberia,  where  the  father  and  two  chil¬ 
dren  soon  fell  victims  to  the  tropical  fever,  leaving 
the  mother  and  Samuel  David  to  establish  their 
home  in  the  new  land.  Bishop  Payne  took  charge 
of  the  boy,  put  him  at  school,  and  was  as  a  father 
to  him  in  his  formative  years  and  until  he  became, 
first  a  teacher,  then  a  priest  of  the  Church.  While 
still  a  student,  he  was  a  Christian  teacher  to  his 

*The  Rt.  Rev.  James  T.  Holley,  D.D.,  of  Haiti,  consecrated 
November  8,  1874,  is  frequently  thought  of  as  the  first  Negro 
bishop  of  our  Church.  He  was,  however,  consecrated  a  bishop 
in  L’Eglise  Orthodox  Apostolique  d’Haiti. 

[  44  ] 


VAI  WOMAN  NATIVE  LOAD  CARRIERS  IN  THE  INTERIOR 


THE  RT.  REV.  SAMUEL  D.  FERGUSON,  D.D.,  D.C.L 
Fourth  Bishop  of  Liberia,  1885-1916 


less  fortunate  fellow  students.  From  one  post  of 
responsibility  to  another  his  faithfulness  and  growth 
in  grace  and  wisdom  combined  to  call  him.  When 
Bishop  Penick  arrived,  he  quickly  singled  out  Mr. 
Ferguson  as  a  fit  person  to  he  the  business  agent  of 
the  Cape  Palmas  District.  Fie  was  for  many  years 
the  President  of  the  Standing  Committee.  The 
high  death-rate  caused  by  the  climate,  among  the 
white  missionaries,  the  growing  emphasis  placed 
upon  the  necessity  of  making  the  Church  a  truly 
national  Church,  the  increasing  mental  and  spiritual 
development  of  the  Negro  clergy,  had  all  conspired 
to  arouse  in  the  Liberian  Church  the  desire  for  a 
bishop  of  their  own  race,  and,  in  the  home  Church, 
the  willingness  to  grant  it.  In  the  Rev.  Samuel 
David  Ferguson,  as  the  trial  proved,  the  man  was 
found  eminently  fitted  for  the  sacred  office  and  the 
arduous  tasks.  After  his  consecration  in  America, 
the  Bishop  visited  the  home  of  his  childhood, 
Charleston,  and  other  points  in  the  South.  His  first 
service  as  Bishop  was  in  Norfolk,  Virginia,  where 
he  confirmed  a  class  for  the  Rev.  J.  H.  M.  Pollard 
in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Innocents.”  Just  before 
returning  to  Africa,  he  preached  in  the  Church  of 
the  Crucifixion,  Philadelphia,  where  one  of  the  con¬ 
gregation  described  the  new  Bishop  as  “tall  and 
slender,  and  at  his  age  shows  the  trying  efifect  of  the 
climate  of  West  Africa.  His  delivery  is  earnest, 
slow,  and  graceful.  The  sermon  though  scholarly, 
was  expressed  in  language  so  simple  that  everyone 
present  must  have  understood  him.  He  is  a  work¬ 
man  thoroughly  furnished  for  his  work.”  Upon 


[  47  ] 


returning  to  Africa,  the  Bishop  received  a  most 
enthusiastic  welcome  from  his  people. 

Before  the  year  closed,  the  King  of  the  Grebos 
presented  himself  to  the  Bishop  for  Baptism ;  and 
later,  the  king’s  wife,  thus  opening  a  door  of  future 
influence  for  the  Church,  though  the  habit  of  polyg¬ 
amy  temporarily  deterred  many  from  surrender  to 
the  Faith  which  forbade  it. 

“Most  encouraging  was  the  personal  interest  of 
the  President  and  members  of  the  Cabinet,  and  of 
the  mayor  of  the  capital  city  and  most  of  the  offi¬ 
cials.  The  Secretary  of  State  was  Superintendent 
of  Trinity  Sunday  School,  and  others  were  active  on 
the  vestry  or  as  worshipers.” 

From  the  Church  at  home  came  encouragement, 
too.  In  1886,  Bishop  and  Mrs.  Bedell  of  Ohio  gave 
two  thousand  dollars  for  the  establishment  and 
equipment  of  a  new  post  to  be  known  as  Thurston 
Station  in  memory  of  Mrs.  Bedell’s  mother.  The 
new  station  was  located  in  a  heathen  village  in 
Maryland  County  and  placed  in  charge  of  Mr.  John 
Payne  Gibson,  who  immediately  began  erecting  a 
house  and  necessary  farm  buildings. 

Bishop  Ferguson  had,  while  on  the  voyage  to 
America  for  his  consecration,  mapped  out  his  plans 
for  the  development  of  his  field.  Among  the  enter¬ 
prises  projected  were  a  theological  school  of  high 
grade,  a  medical  college  for  whose  conduct  native 
physicians  had  been  preparing,  and  an  industrial 
school  completing  the  design  of  his  predecessors. 

“In  1888,  after  another  journey  to  the  United 
States,  the  Bishop  set  about  establishing  a  manual 
labor  farm  which  might  be  developed  in  connec- 

[  48  ] 


tion  with  Hoffman  Institute  already  established  at 
Cavalla.  To  this  new  enterprise  Mr.  R.  Fulton  Cut¬ 
ting,  of  New  York,  gave  the  sum  of  $5,000  which 
was  used  for  the  purchase  of  a  tract  of  one  hundred 
acres  in  a  fine  and  healthy  location  named  Cutting- 
ton  in  honor  of  the  donor.  A  scientific  farmer  was 
placed  in  charge,  and  thus  the  Bishop  was  enabled 
to  begin  one  of  the  great  enterprises  to  which  he 
had  set  his  efforts  in  his  initial  plans  for  develop¬ 
ment.  An  interesting  sidelight  is  thrown  on  the 
success  of  these  enterprises  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fair  in 
describing  his  work  at  Bassa.  The  coffee  crop  here 
was  nearly  doubled  in  one  year  through  the  use  of 
improved  methods,  and  the  whole  crop  was  sold  to 
Park  and  Tilford  of  New  York — a  testimony  to  the 
excellence  of  the  sample. ”  Other  similar  under¬ 
takings,  though  not  so  immediately  successful,  fully 
justified  their  establishment. 

Meantime  Hoffman  Institute  which,  under 
Bishops  Payne  and  Auer  and  a  notable  native  leader, 
the  Rev.  M.  P.  K.  Valentine,  had  been  developed 
into  an  effective  training  school,  was  finally  removed 
to  Cuttington ;  and  here,  in  1889,  a  new  school 
building — Epiphany  Hall,  was  erected.  In  keeping 
with  the  spirit  which  prompted  this  whole  educa¬ 
tional  enterprise,  the  Institute  finally  received  the 
title  “The  Cuttington  Collegiate  and  Divinity 
School.” 

Another  educational  venture  of  the  new  Bishop 
was  the  enlarging  of  the  girls’  school  at  Cape  Mount 
which  was  named  St.  George’s  School  in  apprecia¬ 
tion  of  the  financial  assistance  it  had  received  from 
St.  George’s  Church,  New  York. 


[  49  ] 


Under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  M.  R.  Brierly,  who 
for  seventeen  years  had  been  a  missionary  of  the 
English  Church  Missionary  Society  in  Sierra  Leone 
and  who  had  joined  our  Mission  in  1882,  St. 
George’s  achieved  a  notable  success.  The  location 
of  the  school  proved  disadvantageous,  however,  and, 
in  1903,  it  was  abandoned,  and  a  new  site  was  se¬ 
lected  about  ten  miles  up  the  St.  Paul  River  from 
Monrovia.  This  change  not  only  supplied  the  school 
with  plenty  of  space  for  development,  but  gave  it 
also  a  strategic  position  toward  the  children  of  sev¬ 
eral  neighboring  tribes  as  well  as  advantageous  in 
serving  the  civilized  and  Christian  population  of 
the  coast.  The  generosity  of  an  American  Church- 
woman  made  possible  the  erection  of  a  building  on 
the  new  site  which  received  the  name  Bromley. 
Under  the  terms  of  the  gift  the  new  building  was 
to  be  named  for  the  general  secretary  of  the  Wo¬ 
man’s  Auxiliary,  Miss  Julia  C.  Emery.  The  corner 
stone  of  the  “Julia  C.  Emery  Hall”  was  laid  in  1902, 
but  it  was  not  until  four  years  later  that  the  build¬ 
ing  was  formally  opened  and  occupied  by  the  Girls’ 
Training  School.  Being  a  training  school,  instruc¬ 
tion  was  given  in  industrial  work  as  well  as  the 
usual  school  subjects  and  the  girls  helped  with 
the  work  of  the  school.  In  1927,  the  school  had 
forty-four  pupils. 

This  brief  account  has  prevented  any  mention  of 
the  devoted  teachers  to  whom  the  carrying  on  of 
the  school,  was  due.  In  addition  to  Mrs.  Brierly, 
mention  should  be  made  of  Miss  Agnes  P.  Mahoney, 
and  Professor  Firth  of  Liberia  College  who  long 
served  as  superintendent. 

[  SO  ] 


EPIPHANY  HALL,  CUTTINGTON 


STUDENTS,  EPIPHANY  HALL 


Another  stimulating  evidence  of  the  new  life  in 
the  Mission  at  this  time  is  contained  in  the  report 
for  the  year  1889:  “The  native  converts  are  becom¬ 
ing  increasingly  interested  in  the  spread  of  the 
Gospel  and  evincing  a  desire  for  self-help” — such 
is  the  message.  Church  after  church  set  itself 
the  task  of  raising  as  much  as  possible  for  the 
support  of  the  rector  and  the  meeting  of  its  home 
charges,  while  some  also  included  contributions  for' 
the  general  work  outside  their  borders.  This  marked 
the  beginning  of  a  new  day  for  the  Liberian  Church, 
when  the  vision  of  a  mission  to  others  was  dawning. 

The  year  1890  brought  encouragement  and  sat¬ 
isfaction  to  the  laborers  in  the  Mission.  Materially, 
there  were  notable  additions.  Several  structures  of 
corrugated  iron  with  pitch  pine  frames,  floors,  walls, 
and  woodwork  were  received  ready-cut  from  Amer¬ 
ica  and  speedily  erected  where  all  could  see  and  ap¬ 
preciate.  The  Board  purchased  a  brick  house  in 
Monrovia  for  an  Episcopal  residence,  and  advised 
Bishop  Ferguson  that  he  was  also  to  receive  a 
25-foot  naphtha  launch.  Thus  the  Bishop  acquired 
a  residence  befitting  his  position  in  the  Republic, 
and  also  secured  the  means  whereby,  for  the  first 
time,  proper  communication  could  be  established 
between  the  widely  scattered  coast  stations.  All 
the  time  the  work  was  spreading,  and  during  this 
period  work  was  begun  at  New  Town,  Sodeke, 
Tubake,  and  Teblebo  on  the  Cavalla  River,  and 
Kabo,  Nmanolu  and  Gyutu  in  the  interior. 

“In  1890,  a  high  recognition  of  the  Negro  leader¬ 
ship  of  the  Church  came  in  the  election  by  the 
authorities  of  the  Republic,  of  the  Rev.  G.  W. 


[  53  ] 


1  Gibson  as  president  of  the  College  of  Liberia. ’*  A 
few  years  later,  he  became  Secretary  of  State,  and 
filled  that  post  most  acceptably. 

In  October,  the  General  Convocation  met  in  St. 
Paul’s  Church,  Greenville,  Sinoe,  and  organized  a 
missionary  society,  thereby  showing  a  realization 
of  the  great  work  which  faced  the  Church  in  Liberia. 

Although  the  newly  awakened  missionary  spirit 
*of  the  Liberian  Church  was,  time  and  again, 
thwarted  by  hostilities  among  the  tribes  within 
whose  borders  Mission  work  was  carried  on,  there 
is  abundant  evidence  that  foundations  were  being 
laid.  Thus,  when  in  1892,  the  tribes  of  the  Cavalla 
region  were  notified  by  the  Bishop  that  disturbances 
caused  by  them  necessitated  the  discontinuance  of 
Mission  work,  the  chiefs,  naively  begged  for  a  with¬ 
drawal  of  the  notice,  and  that  they  be  not  denied 
pthe  light  of  Christianity. 

Such  appeal  reads:  “We  are  looking  to  you,  as 
the  people  that  started  leading  us  to  the  Great  One, 
still  to  continue  His  message  amongst  us.  But  if 
you  mean  to  leave  us  to  remain  in  darkness,  please 
let  us  know ;  for  we  do  not  think  it  right  to  seek  it 
elsewhere  until  we  hear  and  know  the  same  from 
you,  that  you  have  already  given  us  up.  We  close 
with  the  following — that  we  sincerely  and  earnestly 
need  the  preaching  and  teaching  of  the  Word  of 
God  amongst  us  with  more  force  and  spirit  than 
ever  in  other  past  times.  We  are  sincerely  and 
earnestly  yours  for  whom  God’s  Son  died  too. 
Signed,  Teba  Yue  Hue,  King.”  Who  could  resist  so 
earnest  and  childlike  an  appeal !  Many  a  white 
church  might  envy  such  a  witness  to  its  labors. 


r  54  1 


JULTA  C.  EMERY  HALL,  BROMLEY 


ST.  LUKE’S  CHURCH,  EDINA  ST.  ANDREW’S  CHURCH,  UPPER  BUCHANAN 


In  the  year  1895,  the  efforts  of  the  Church  to¬ 
ward  self-help  and  national  autonomy  had  so  far 
progressed,  that  the  General  Convocation  of  the 
Church  of  Liberia,  meeting  in  St.  Mark’s  Church, 
Harper,  sat  for  the  first  time  as  “The  Board  of 
Directors  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  Mis¬ 
sionary  Society  of  Liberia  for  the  Conduct  of  the 
Business  of  God,”  and  has  so  continued  ever  since. 

“Steadily  the  native  Church  grew — many  of  the 
children  of  early  converts  in  the  ranks,  still  more 
of  the  grandchildren.  From  these,  the  ordained 
ministry  was  recruited,  teachers  prepared,  doctors 
taught,  and  nurses  trained.” 

Bishop  Ferguson’s  influence  served  to  emphasize 
the  need  of  a  high  moral  standard  fin  the  Republic. 
The  race  exhibited  such  an  example  as  the  Rev. 
M.  P.  Iveda  Valentine,  of  whom  Bishop  Penick, 
his  former  Bishop,  on  hearing  of  his  death,  wrote : 
“He  was  one  of  the  foremost  spirits  who  ended  the 
forty  years’  war  between  two  factions  of  the  Grebo 
tribe.  He  was  foremost  in  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew, 
music,  athletics,  courage,  marksmanship,  stateman- 
ship,  and  Christian  character  amongst  his  fellows. 
Deeds  of  daring,  self-sacrifice,  patient  endurance, 
forgiveness,  and  justness  cluster  about  this  man’s 
life  as  about  few  I  have  even  seen  or  read  of  .  .  . 
For  six  years  I  was  in  touch  with  Keda  Valentine, 
as  his  Bishop ;  I,  coming  from  the  center  of  Christian 
culture  and  light ;  he,  from  the  depths  of  heathen 
corruption  and  superstition ;  yet  I  cannot  recall  one 
solitary  instance  when  this  man,  by  word  or  deed, 
fell  below  the  mark  of  lofty  Christian  manhood  as 
we  know  it.  No  duty  assigned  was  ever  too  hard, 

[  57  ] 


no  promotion  over  him  ever  drew  a  word  or  look 
of  protest,  no  echo  of  envy  did  I  ever  hear  from 
his  lips.  I  saw  him  sit  amongst  the  kings  and 
sages  of  his  people,  where  no  other  young  man 
had  ever  sat,  and  when  I  asked  them  why  he  was 
there,  they  answered,  ‘True,  he  is  very  young,  but 
God  has  put  plenty  of  His  Book  in  him,  and  he 
is  fit  to  sit  with  us  and  make  laws.’  Now  he  is 
gone  to  join  the  other  brave  cultured,  true  spirits 
— Montgomery  and  Walters — three  bright  stars 
in  that  dark  land’s  firmament.” 

Always,  Bishop  Ferguson’s  mind  was  set  upon 
developing  more  of  such  exemplars  of  Christian 
character  through  the  best  education  which  the 
pitiably  narrow  resources  of  the  Church  permitted. 
Fortunately,  some  help  was  forthcoming  from 
America. 

As  a  memorial  to  Mrs.  Brierly,  who  for  thirteen 
years  had  labored  to  advance  the  cause  of  girls  in 
Liberia,  the  Woman’s  Auxiliary  at  a  general  meet¬ 
ing  held  in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  in  1895,  pledged 
$4,000  for  the  rebuilding  of  the  Girls’  School  at  Cape 
Palmas,  which  Mr.  Hoffman  had  begun  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Mission.  Two  years  later,  work  on  the 
new  building  to  be  known  as  Brierly  Memorial 
Hall,  was  begun.  The  school  which  served  as  an 
orphanage  and  girls’  school  combined,  was  situated 
in  such  a  healthy,  sanitary  spot,  that,  each  year, 
applications  far  exceeded  accommodations,  and  the 
number  of  rejected  applications  frequently  equalled 
the  number  of  those  admitted,  solely  because  of  in¬ 
sufficient  space.  There  was  never  room  for  more 
than  eighty  boarders  and  twenty-five  day  students. 

[  58  ] 


The  last  years  of  the  century  and  the  first  years 
of  the  new  century  were  marked  by  much  build¬ 
ing  activity.  It  was  in  these  years  that  the  com¬ 
paratively  adequate  buildings  at  St.  John’s,  Cape 
Mount,  were  begun — St.  John’s  Church,  Langford 
Memorial  Hall,  and  Brunot  Memorial  Hall  for  girls. 
St.  Philip’s  Church,  Gardinerville ;  St.  Peter’s 
Church,  Caldwell;  St.  John’s  Chapel,  Lower  Bu¬ 
chanan  ;  and  St.  Luke’s  Chapel,  Edina,  were  either 
begun  or  completed  during  these  years.  They  were 
evidences  of  the  increasing  ability  of  the  Liberian 
toward  self-help. 

The  meeting  of  the  Biennial  Convocation  at  St. 
Mark’s  Church,  Harper,  in  1903,  was  marked  by 
an  event  of  unusual  interest  to  the  Liberians  and 
the  native  tribes  alike.  On  Convocation  Sunday, 
February  15th,  Bishop  Ferguson  set  apart  as  Dea¬ 
coness,  Mrs.  Rosa  D.  Gibson,  the  widow  of  the  late 
Rev.  R.  H.  Gibson,  for  work  in  St.  Mark’s  Parish. 
Mrs.  Gibson  was  the__first  woman  so  set  apart  in 
this  Diocese.  Another  event  of  equal  interest  was 
the  admission  to  the  diaconate,  late  in  the  same  year, 
of  Z.  B.  Seda  Roberts,  the  first  member  of  the  Kru 
tribe  to  receive  Holy  Orders  in  the  Church. 

The  year  1905,  marked  the  twentieth  anniver¬ 
sary  of  Bishop  Ferguson’s  elevation  to  the  Epis¬ 
copate.  In  his  report  for  that  year,  the  Bishop 
recalls  the  plans  which  he  had  made  at  the  out¬ 
set  and  which  were  gradually  becoming  accomp¬ 
lished  facts.  The  number  of  stations  had  been 
doubled  despite  the  many  trying  and  discouraging 
circumstances  created  through  foreign  aggression 
and  internal  tribal  disorders.  Educational  institu- 


[  59  ] 


tiomyhad  been  multiplied  and  strategic  points  occu¬ 
pied  with  a  view  to  reaching  the  tribes  of  the 
interior.  Some  progress  had  been  made  toward 
inspiring  the  Liberian  Church  with  an  ideal  of  self- 
help  and  missionary  responsibility.  Finally,  in  1905, 
the  Bishop  of  Liberia  and  his  entire  staff  of  clergy, 
with  one  exception,  were  all  Africans ;  and  all  except 
the  Bishop  had  been  born  on  that  continent,  edu¬ 
cated  in  our  Mission  schools,  and  there  prepared 
for  the  ministry  of  the  word  of  God  and  of  His 
Sacraments  to  their  own  people.  This  steady  growth 
of  a  native  ministry  and  toward  an  autonomous 
Church,  promised  much  for  the  future. 

The  bright  outlook,  however,  the  Bishop  wrote, 
was  contingent  on  three  things:  “(1)  The  con¬ 
tinued  blessing  of  God ;  to  secure  which  we  shall 
always  have  to  walk  conformably  to  His  Will. 

(2)  We  shall  need  the  friends  of  this  Mission 
in  the  United  States  to  still  stand  by  and  extend 
the  helping  hand  until  we  are  able  to  walk  alone. 
By  their  continuing  to  manifest  an  interest  in  the 
work  here,  we  shall  be  encouraged  and  stimulated 
to  do  more  in  the  direction  of  self-support. 

(3)  There  must  be  no  abatement  of  the  interest 
and  efforts  of  the  workers  in  the  field,  but  rather 
an  increase  of  energy  and  zeal  and  fidelity,  backed 
up  by  the  constraining  love  of  Christ.  By  their 
joint  co-operation,  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  every  obstacle  will  be  overcome  and  the 
prophet  Isaiah’s  prediction  be  fulfilled  here  in 
Africa.  ‘The  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall 
be  glad  for  them ;  and  the  desert  shall  rejoice  and 
blossom  as  the  rose’.” 


[  60  ] 


BRIERLY  MEMORIAL  HALL,  HARPER 


ST.  JAMES’  CHURCH,  HOFFMAN  STATION 


ST.  JOHN’S  CHURCH,  CAPE  MOUNT 


At  the  Biennial  Convocation  of  this  same  year 
(1905)  arrangements  were  made  for  securing  an 
endowment  fund  for  the  District.  The  Convoca¬ 
tion  also  approved  the  proposal  to  change  the  name 
of  the  District  from  “The  Missionary  District  of 
Cape  Palmas  and  Parts  Adjacent”  to  “The  Mission¬ 
ary  District  of  Liberia.”  After  being  submitted  to 
the  various  parishes  for  their  approval,  General 
Convention  was  memorialized  to  sanction  the 
change  which  was  finally  done  in  1913. 

Miss  Mahoney,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  with¬ 
drew  from  the  field  on  account  of  ill  health  shortly 
after  the  removal  of  St.  George’s  Girls’  School  from 
Cape  Mount  to  the  St.  Paul  River,  was  able  to  re¬ 
turn  to  Africa  in  1904,  and  she  brought  back  with 
her  two  thousand  dollars  and  materials  with  which 
to  inaugurate  her  long  devised  plans  for  medical 
work.  She  selected  a  site  about  a  mile  from  St. 
John’s,  Cape  Mount,  on  one  of  the  hills,  where  there 
was  good  water,  and  more  land  available  if  the  need 
arose.  Here  was  set  up  a  portable  house  which 
Miss  Mahoney  had  brought  with  her  from  the 
United  States.  But  to  establish  and  maintain  a 
hospital  single-handed  proved  to  be  a  task  beyond 
the  powers  of  even  so  zealous  a  worker  as  Miss 
Mahoney.  Some  dispensary  work  was  done  among 
the  natives,  but  hardly  more  than  a  year  elapsed 
before  Miss  Mahoney  was  again  obliged  to  return 
home  worn  out ;  and,  with  her  departure,  all  imme¬ 
diate  hope  of  a  hospital  disappeared.  It  seems  al¬ 
most  incredible  that  the  Church  at  home  should,  for 
years,  so  far  have  disregarded  the  necessities  of  the 
case  as  to  leave  her  workers  (to  say  nothing  of  the 

r  63  1 


Liberian  and  native  populations)  absolutely  without 
medical  care  and  protection  in  a  land  where  any 
knowledge  of  sanitation  and  hygiene  was  practically 
nil,  and  exposed  to  a  tropical  climate  most  inimical 
to  white  people.  Yet  such  was  literally  the  case; 
and  the  result  of  the  neglect  was  a  waste  of  valu¬ 
able  lives  and  a  general  loss  of  efficiency  throughout 
the  whole  Mission. 

Meantime,  however,  Miss  Mahoney  had  started 
another  enterprise  which  was  destined  to  become 
more  successful.  With  the  assistance  of  Miss 
Ridgely,  a  newcomer,  she  opened  a  small  day  school 
for  girls  known  as  The  House  of  Bethany.  Under 
Miss  Ridgely,  the  school  prospered,  and  was  pres¬ 
ently  able  to  secure  a  fairly  commodious  house  and 
to  take  a  number  of  boarding  pupils.  While  the 
school  gave  the  day  pupils  instruction  through  the 
first  seven  years  and  a  complete  course  in  domestic 
science,  the  boarders  coming  as  they  did  from  the 
native  tribes  of  the  interior  were  cared  for  until 
their  marriage.  Occasionally  the  better  of  the  girls 
were  sent  to  Freetown,  Sierra  Leone,  for  further 
training.  Several  of  them  who  finished  their  courses 
there  returned  to  the  school  as  assistant  teachers  to 
Miss  Ridgely. 

The  seventieth  anniversary  of  the  establishment 
of  missionary  work  in  Liberia  was  marked  by  the 
erection  of  a  monument  at  Mt.  Vaughan,  on  the 
spot  where  the  first  work  was  begun,  in  memory 
of  those  missionaries  who  had  sacrificed  their  lives 
in  the  enterprise.  This  monument  was  unveiled 
with  impressive  ceremonies  on  December  7,  1906. 

For  many  years  the  District  had  been  without 

[  64  ] 


ST.  PETER’S  CHURCH,  CALDWELL 


CANDIDATES  FOR  BAPTISM,  BENDU 


TYPICAL  RESIDENCE  OF  A  GENERATION  AGO  CHURCH  AT  ROYESVILLE 


any  official  Church  paper  to  keep  the  scattered 
units  in  touch  with  one  another.  Bishop  Payne  had 
founded  The  Cavalla  Messenger  as  the  diocesan  paper 
in  1852.  This  had  contributed  largely  to  the  dis¬ 
semination  of  news  throughout  the  District ;  but, 
with  the  death  of  Bishop  Auer,  and  the  subsequent 
years  of  travail,  this  paper  had  ceased  to  exist. 
In  1907,  therefore,  Bishop  Ferguson  began  the  pub¬ 
lication  of  The  Silver  Trumpet,  a  quarterly  journal, 
as  the  official  organ  of  the  District. 

Again,  however,  the  venture  proved  short-lived, 
and  it  was  not  for  many  years  that  it  was  renewed 
under  better  auspices. 

In  1910,  the  Republic  was  sorely  oppressed. 
Though  the  efforts  of  the  Mission  had  been  ever 
to  bring  about  concord  and  unity  between  the 
Americo-Liberians  and  the  aborigines,  occasional 
disorders  between  these  two  classes  arose.  A  com 
diet  of  special  severity  broke  out  along  the  Cavalla 
River  in  this  year;  and  the  danger  of  the  disorder 
was  accentuated  by  efforts  of  France  to  secure  more 
and  more  of  Liberia’s  border — territory  under  the 
disguise  of  “ancient  claims.”  Thus,  torn  asunder 
from  both  within  and  without,  Liberia  appealed  to 
the  United  States  for  aid  in  maintaining  her  inde¬ 
pendence  and  in  carrying  on  a  peaceful,  orderly, 
efficient  government.  The  United  States  Govern¬ 
ment  responded  by  sending  a  Commission  of  three 
to  examine  into  Liberia’s  affairs  and  conditions. 
Commenting  on  this,  the  Annual  Report  of  the 
Board  of  Missions  for  1909-1910  says: 

“Action  has  been  taken  by  Congress  looking 
toward  the  settlement  of  the  pending  boundary 

1  67  ] 


disputes,  the  refunding  of  its  debts,  the  reform  of 
its  internal  finances  and  in  other  ways  assuring 
the  stability  and  independence  of  the  Republic. 

“Under  this  new  order  of  things,  the  Church, 
which  has  always  exerted  a  strong  influence  in 
Liberia  in  conserving  the  high  moral  standard 
of  the  Liberians,  will  be  more  potent  than  ever, 
and  will  open  the  door  to  still  larger  fields  of  use¬ 
fulness  if  only  the  Mother  Church  at  home  will 
come  to  her  assistance. 

“In  spite  of  all  the  hardships  through  which  the 
little  Republic  has  passed,  the  Church,  under  the 
splendid  leadership  of  Bishop  Ferguson,  has  de- 
veleped  into  a  power  for  good  throughout  the  whole 
length  and  breadth  of  the  country.” 

The  difficulties  above  mentioned  were  much  al¬ 
leviated  by  help  from  the  United  States;  but  this 
assistance  had  no  magical  efifect  upon  the  natives, 
and  disturbances  of  one  sort  or  another  broke  out 
spasmodically.  One  of  especial  severity  was  a 
native  uprising  in  the  Grand  Bassa  region  which, 
though  not  directed  against  the  Mission,  greatly 
disturbed  the  latter  in  its  work.  Elsewhere,  con* 
ditions  were  encouraging. 

Early  in  the  year  1913,  Trinity  Memorial  Church,* 
Monrovia,  was  declared  free  of  debt  and  was  there¬ 
upon  consecrated  on  the  first  day  of  the  meeting  of 
the  Biennial  Convocation  of  that  year.  The  session 
was  concerned  with  several  measures  of  note.  A 
rumor  was  current  that  a  proposal  had  been  made 
to  transfer  the  work  in  Liberia  to  the  Church  of 
England,  a  proposal  based  on  the  existence  of 

*In  memory  of  Bishop  J.  G.  Auer.  See  supra  page  27. 

1  68  ] 


MAIN  STREET,  MONROVIA,  FROM  BISHOP’S  HOUSE 


BISHOP’S  HOUSE,  MONROVIA,  1920 


strong  Missions  of  that  Church  on  either  side  of 
Liberia  in  the  colonies  of  Sierra  Leone  and  the  Gold 
Coast.  The  Convocation  showed  itself  strongly 
opposed  to  any  such  plan.  The  Convocation  also 
completed  the  necessary  steps  for  changing  the  name 
of  the  District,  the  accomplishment  of  which  we 
have  already  noticed.*  Constructive  action  was 
taken  for  making  more  strenuous  efforts  towards 
self-support,  and  in  formulating  plans  for  a  Sunday 
School  Union  intended  to  raise  the  effectiveness  of 
the  instruction  given  in  such  schools. 

During  the  year  preceding  this  Convocation,  the 
Liberian  legislature  had  enacted  a  measure  modify¬ 
ing  the  existing  divorce-law  in  such  a  way  as  to 
i  threaten  the  whole  moral  fabric  of  the  Republic. 
I  Realizing  the  danger,  Bishop  Ferguson  had  brought 
|.  all  power  possible  to  bear  upon  the  President  in 
^  order  to  insure  the  veto  of  this  law  which  would 
have  done  so  much  to  undo  the  splendid  work  of 
the  Mission  in  bringing  moral  standards  in  Li¬ 
beria  to  a  Christian  level.  The  President  vetoed 
the  act  in  no  unmistakable  terms,  and  the  Convo¬ 
cation  went  on  record  as  being  heartily  thankful 
to  the  Bishop  for  the  part  he  had  played  in  pre¬ 
venting  the  proposed  divorce-law  from  being  en¬ 
acted. 

Late  in  the  same  year  (1913),  Bishop  Ferguson 
went  to  the  United  States  to  attend  the  meeting 
of  General  Convention.  With  him  went  the  Rev. 
F.  A.  K.  Russell,  rector  of  St.  John’s  Church, 
Grand  Bassa,  who  was  the  first  Liberian  repre¬ 
sentative  ever  to  sit  in  the  House  of  Clerical  and 

*See  supra  page  43. 


r  7i  i 


Lay  Deputies.  It  was  also  Mr.  Russell’s  first  trip 
outside  of  Liberia. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  inauguration  of 
St.  John’s  Mission  at  Cape  Mount  as  early  as  1878. 
The  location  of  a  school  here  was  favorable  because 
of  its  proximity  to  the  Vai  tribe  which  had,  from  the 
outset,  proved  peculiarly  open  to  civilizing  influ¬ 
ences.  The  Mission,  and  especially,  the  school  con¬ 
nected  with  it,  had  proved  increasingly  successful 
as  the  years  passed. 

Unfortunately  the  lack  of  men  and  money  pre¬ 
vented  St.  John’s  from  expanding  its  curriculum 
of  fundamental  education  to  include  industrial  and 
agricultural  instruction.  This  limitation  of  activity 
or  neglect  of  industrial  training,  inevitable  as  it 
was  under  the  circumstances,  imposed  a  serious 
handicap  on  Liberia’s  prosperity ;  nor  was  it  our 
own  Mission  only  which  was  to  blame  in  this 
respect. 

Trained  and  educated  men  have  gone  forth  from 
Liberia’s  schools — both  government  and  mission — 
into  important,  but  on  the  whole,  unproductive 
fields.  The  dearth  of  well  trained  mechanics,  car¬ 
penters,  and  manual  workers  of  all  kinds,  retarded 
the  economic  development  of  the  Republic,  and 
forced  the  people  to  live  on  a  low  economic  level 
which  necessarily  reacted  disastrously  upon  the 
1  standards  of  the  nation.  Fortunately  St.  John’s 
was  able,  finally,  to  inaugurate,  in  1921,  an  agri¬ 
cultural  program  under  the  direction  of  an  expert. 
cAt  that  time  also,  the  name  of  the  institution  was 
changed  from  St.  John’s  School  to  St.  John’s 
Academic  and  Industrial  School. 


[  72  ] 


HOUSE  OF  BETHANY,  CAPE  MOUNT 


ST.  TIMOTHY’S  HOSPITAL,  CAPE  MOUNT 


\ 


Bishop  Gardiner,*  himself  a  member  of  the  Vai 
tribe  and  an  early  pupil  at  St.  John’s,  wrote,  in 
1922 :  “The  influence  of  this  mission  has  been 
wonderful,  not  only  among  the  Vai  people  but  also 
among  the  adjacent  tribes  far  and  near.  In  1897, 
there  were  not  five  men  in  the  Vai  territory  who 
spoke  correct  English ;  today  hundreds  of  my  peo¬ 
ple  express  themselves  in  that  language.  Today 
nearly  all  business  letters,  petitions  and  other  diplo¬ 
matic  documents  from  Vai  Kings  and  merchants  are 
written  by  Vai  boys  and  girls  in  civilized  language. 


In  1877,  there  was  not  a  single  Christian  among  // 
us — today  there  are  hundreds.” 


The  carrying  out  of  the  program  indicated  by 
the  new  title  “St.  John’s  Academic  and  Industrial 
School”  was  further  advanced  by  the  addition,  in 
February,  1922,  of  a  department  of  normal  instruc¬ 
tion  and  a  school  of  trades.  This  was  made  pos¬ 
sible  by  the  addition  to  the  school’s  staff  of  the 
Rev.  William  Hoke  Ramsaur,  who  began  to  give 
instruction  in  carpentry,  shoemaking,  tailoring,  and 
printing.  Mr.  Ramsaur,  who  had  joined  the  Mission 
in  1920,  had  studied  at  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  and  the  Philadelphia  Divinity  School.  At 
the  latter,  he  was  the  honor  man  in  the  Class  of 
1917.  Following  his  graduation,  he  spent  three 
years  as  traveling  secretary  of  the  Student  Volun¬ 
teer  Movement,  urging  college  men  and  women 
throughout  the  country  to  offer  themselves  to  the 
overseas’  service  of  our  Lord.  He  then  offered 
himself  for  this  service  and  chose  Liberia  as  the 
field  where  our  Church  came  most  closely  in  con- 


*See  in jra  page  60. 


[  75  ] 


tact  with  Mohammedanism.  Upon  his  arrival  in 
Liberia,  he  devoted  his  energies  to  the  tribes  of  the 
interior,  especially  the  Vais  and  the  Golas.  His 
explorations  in  this  country  were  of  great  assistance 
in  the  subsequent  opening  of  the  Holy  Cross  Mis¬ 
sion  at  Masambolahun.  His  sudden  death  a  few 
months  after  going  to  St.  John’s  was  a  severe  blow 
to  this  enterprise  as  well  as  to  the  whole  Church, 
but  fortunately  it  was  possible  to  continue  the  plans 
under  the  direction  of  the  Rev.  Elwood  L.  Haines, 
who  for  many  years  had  been  stationed  at  Bendoo, 
and  Mr.  Ellis  H.  Robison,  a  graduate  of  the  Cor¬ 
nell  Agricultural  School.* 

After  the  establishment  of  the  industrial  depart¬ 
ment  in  St.  John’s  School,  a  third  attempt  was 
made  to  establish  a  diocesan  magazine  for  the  gen¬ 
eral  information  of  the  widely  scattered  congrega¬ 
tions.  In  October,  1922,  the  boys  of  the  printing 
department  of  St.  John’s,  printed  the  first  issue  of 
the  Liberian  Churchman ,  which  served  to  maintain  the 
esprit  de  corps  of  the  District.  Incidentally,  it  served 
as  an  object  lesson  of  the  capabilities  of  its  Negro 
apprentices. 

In  1928,  the  School  was  housed  in  five  buildings, 
mainly  of  stone,  and  including  the  Langford  Mem¬ 
orial  Dormitory  named  in  honor  of  a  former  Gen¬ 
eral  Secretary  of  the  Board,  Ramsaur  Mechanics 
House,  and  St.  John’s  Church.  Eight  teachers  gave 
instruction  to  about  one  hundred  and  ninety  boys, 
many  of  whom  were  drawn  from  the  surrounding 
tribes — Vai,  Bassa,  Mendi,  Kru,  and  Mandingo,  but 
chiefly  from  the  Vai. 

*See  The  Spirit  of  Missions.  Vol.  88,  p.  57  ff.  September,  1923 

[  76  ] 


BRUNOT  MEMORIAL  HALL,  CAPE  MOUNT 


LANGFORD  MEMORIAL  HALL,  CAPE  MOUNT 


St.  John's  Academic  and  Industrial  School 


During  the  years  immediately  preceding  the  out¬ 
break  of  the  World  War,  there  was  a  considerable 
amount  of  building  activity.  St.  Mark’s  Church, 
Harper  (Cape  Palmas),  undertook  to  establish  a 
Mission  for  the  natives  of  Maryland  County,  and  to 
that  end  erected  the  James  M.  Thompson  Memorial 
Chapel  in  memory  of  our  first  worker  in  Liberia.  A 
new  St.  John’s  Church  was  erected  in  the  Grand 
Bassa  region ;  the  old  building  being  converted  into 
a  school  and  used  also  for  general  parish  activities. 
The  corner  stone  of  the  “Eli  W.  Stokes  Memorial 
Hall,”  Royesville,  in  honor  of  the  Negro  worker 
who,  it  will  be  remembered,  went  out  to  Liberia 
in  the  early  days  of  the  Mission  in  response  to 
Bishop  Payne’s  call,*  was  laid,  in  1914;  and  the 
“Crummell  Memorial  Hall,”  Clay  Ashland,  was 
dedicated  during  the  same  year. 

When  the  Great  War  began  in  1914,  its  effect 
was  severely  felt  even  in  far-distant  Liberia.  Ship¬ 
ping  was  greatly  curtailed,  and  communication  be¬ 
tween  the  widely  separated  stations,  as  well  as  with 
the  outside  world,  was  badly  disorganized.  To  add 
to  this  inconvenience,  the  British  Government,  when 
it  issued  its  “white  list”  of  acceptable  shippers, 
failed  to  include  any  of  the  business  agents  of  the 
Mission,  or  of  the  firms  through  which  they  dealt. 
This  was  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  work,  and  it  was 
only  through  the  untiring  efforts  of  the  Bishop  and 
his  workers  that  this  list  was  modified  so  as  to 
include  six  firms  through  which  the  Mission  could 
work,  but  which  were  not  directly  connected  with 
the  Mission.  These  worries  placed  an  added  strain 

*See  supra  page  19. 


r  79  ] 


upon  the  already  over-taxed  strength  of  the  Bishop ; 
and,  suddenly  on  the  evening  of  August  2,  1916,  he 
died  from  an  attack  of  paralysis  of  the  heart — just 
one  hundred  years  after  the  organization  of  the 
American  Colonization  Society,  to  which  the  Repub¬ 
lic  of  Liberia  owed  its  existence. 

Before  the  great  Bishop’s  death  he  had  had  the 
joy  of  seeing  the  first  steps  toward  an  achievement 
for  which  he  had  long  labored.  During  the  summer 
of  1916,  the  Vestry  of  Trinity  Memorial  Church, 
Monrovia,  had  voted  to  assume  the  support  of  its 
rector.  This  congregation  was  the  first  in  the  Dis¬ 
trict  to  become  self-supporting,  and  thus  carried 
one  step  forward  the  development  of  an  indepen¬ 
dent  Church  which,  up  to  that  time,  had,  with  some 
measure  of  success,  devoted  most  of  its  energies 
to  the  training  of  a  native  ministry. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Matthews  furnishes  the  statement 
here  quoted  as  to  the  condition  of  the  District  just 
prior  to  Bishop  Ferguson’s  death :  “When  he  was 
made  bishop  the  Church  had  but  ten  clergy  in  the 
District ;  today  we  have  26,  all  colored.  Then  only 
24  lay  helpers ;  now  we  have  74.  Then  but  9  day- 
schools,  with  284  pupils ;  now  we  have  25  schools 
with  1,094  pupils.  From  5  boarding  schools  with 
251  scholars,  we  have  now  grown  to  20,  with  596 
boarders.  The  number  of  Sunday  School  scholars 
has  increased  over  2,000.  The  number  of  stations 
and  churches  has  increased  150  per  cent,  and  the 
communicant  list  has  grown  over  2,000.  From 
being,  in  1885,  absolutely  dependent  for  support  on 
the  home  Church,  the  Liberians  in  1913,  contrib¬ 
uted  nearly  $7,000  toward  self-support.” 


A 


[  80  ] 


“THE  PRINTERS” 


“THE  SHOEMAKERS” 


St.  John's  Academic  and  Industrial  School 


NATIVE  LAUNDRY 


VOLUNTEER  WORKERS  ON  ST.  TIMOTHY’S  NURSES’  HOME, 

CAPE  MOUNT 


“We  must  not  close  the  story  of  Bishop  Fergu¬ 
son’s  devoted  labors  without  a  reference  to  his 
relation  to  the  Republic.  This  relation  was  unique. 
The  Bishop  was  generally  regarded  as  the  chief 
citizen,  the  ‘grand  old  man’  of  the  Republic.  In 
his  more  than  fifty  years  of  service  as  teacher  and 
bishop,  he  had  trained  many  of  the  rulers  and 
legislators  in  whose  hands  lay  the  destiny  of  Li¬ 
beria.  These  men  knew  him  as  man,  as  teacher, 
as  bishop.  They  knew  his  honor,  his  love  for 
country  and  people,  his  wisdom,  his  unselfishness. 
They  trusted  him.  He  was  their  adviser.  At  cru¬ 
cial  times  he  was  called  upon  to  address  and  to 
advise  their  Congress.  The  President  felt  that,  in 
him,  a  wise  counsellor  was  at  hand;  and  he  used 
him  as  the  Bishop  was  willing  to  be  used.  Well 
did  the  Liberians  say  of  him,  with  set  purpose  to 
abide  by  it:  ‘Let  us  imitate  the  good  example  he 
has  set  us’.” 

The  citizens  of  Monrovia  sought  to  emulate  the 
good  example  of  their  late  Bishop  in  an  extraordi¬ 
nary  but  peculiarly  effective  way.  Conscious  that 
the  80-odd  Mission  schools  scattered  along  the 
coast  and  in  the  interior  could  influence  but  little 
more  than  the  fringes  of  the  vast  hordes  of  na¬ 
tives,  the  civilized  cultured  people  of  Monrovia  be¬ 
gan  taking  native  children  into  their  homes.  One 
Monrovian  remarked  that  he  had  thirty-one  children 
and  hastily  added  that  none  of  them  were  his  own. 
Before  Mrs.  Ferguson  died  she  had  eight  native 
children  in  her  home,  one  Kru  girl,  six  Bassa 
and  one  Buzzi  boys,  the  latter  being  the  son  of  a 
chief.  Along  a  typical  Monrovian  street  of  twenty 

[  83  ] 


homes,  forty-eight  adopted  native  children  were 
found  to  be  living.  Throughout  the  city,  in  the 
civilized  homes  of  the  community,  the  same  or  a 
larger  proportion  of  adopted  children  per  home 
prevailed.  Thus  the  citizens  of  Monrovia  met  in 
a  very  practical  way  a  national  problem  of  great 
dimensions  and  urgency,  that  is,  the  transforma¬ 
tion  of  the  native  elements  of  the  population  into 
men  and  women  capable  of  sharing  in  the  respon¬ 
sibilities  of  a  free  and  democratic  government.  It 
was  a  tremendous  task  that  these  people  had  as¬ 
sumed  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  uncivilized 
elements  of  the  population  outnumber  the  civilized 
fifty  to  one;  but  the  results  justified  their  courage. 

It  was  not  until  1917,  through  the  generosity  of 
a  Philadelphia  Churchwoman  that  necessary  funds 
for  the  establishment  of  a  hospital  were  obtained. 
i  With  the  funds  in  hand  for  the  building,  ways  for 
securing  a  site  were  sought.  The  Government  of¬ 
fered  two  acres  of  land  on  the  site  of  a  beautiful  hill 
rising  above  Cape  Mount.  The  boys  of  St.  John’s 
School  promptly  offered  to  quarry  the  necessary 
stone  and  Miss  Sarah  E.  Conway,  who  for  many 
years  had  been  treating  over  thirty  patients  a  day 
without  hospital  accommodations,  soon  had  a  com¬ 
pact  little  hospital  with  wards,  dispensary,  supply 
room,  and  rooms  for  white  nurses  and  for  black 
nurses,  in  which  to  minister  to  the  physical  needs 
of  the  Liberians.  This  was  the  only  hospital 
throughout  the  width  and  breadth  of  Liberia  until 
in  1923,  the  Lutheran  Mission  on  the  St.  Paul  River 
began  a  similar  venture.  It  is  therefore,  not  surpris¬ 
ing  that  Miss  Lois  M.  Ford,  who  succeeded  Miss 

[  84  ] 


INTERIOR,  CHURCH  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR,  BENDU 


CRUMMELL  MEMORIAL  HALL, 


CLAY  ASHLAND 


ST.  PAUL’S  CHURCH,  SINOE 


Conway  as  superintendent,  with  her  associate,  Miss 
M.  C.  Gordon,  treated  more  than  10,000  cases  a  year. 

The  death  of  Bishop  Ferguson  brought  to  the 
front  very  forcefully  the  question  of  the  future  of 
the  Liberian  Church.  For  three  trying  war-years 
the  matter  of  the  Liberian  Episcopate  and  the  full 
independence  of  the  Church  was  discussed  in  all 
its  bearings.  And  that  the  Church  at  home  might 
have  first-hand  information  regarding  existing  con¬ 
ditions,  a  Commission  consisting  of  the  Rt.  Rev. 
A.  S.  Lloyd,  President  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  and 
the  Ven.  T.  A.  Schofield,  Archdeacon  of  Colorado, 
visited  Liberia  and  spent  the  first  half  of  1918  in 
an  intensive  study  of  the  Mission  there.  The  Com¬ 
mission  rendered  a  very  full  report  of  its  findings* 
from  which  the  following  observations  and  recom¬ 
mendations  are  rather  freely  quoted.  The  Commis¬ 
sion  found  an  active  and  vigorous  body  of  clergy, 
intelligently  devoted  to  their  work.  Entirely  free 
from  self-seeking,  their  hearty  enthusiasm  had  fre¬ 
quently  led  them,  in  addition  to  their  regularly 
assigned  duties  and  at  their  own  expense,  to  carry 
on  work  among  the  uncivilized  heathen.  These  men 
had  to  minister  to  their  people  in  churches  which, 
with  one  or  two  exceptions,  were  deperately  unfit 
and  unfurnished.  With  no  proper  chancel  or  altar, 
it  was  difficult  for  the  Church’s  service  to  be  rend¬ 
ered  fitly ;  yet  the  Commission  found  always  a  most 
reverent  spirit  even  under  trying  circumstances. 
As  there  were  no  adequate  churches,  so  the  other 
Mission  buildings  were  equally  dilapidated,  and 

*See  The  Spirit  oj  Missions,  June,  1918,  vol.  83,  p.  393  ff. 

f  87  1 


Bishop  Lloyd  most  earnestly  protested  that  “the 
wasteful  economy  of  the  Church  in  America  has 
piled  up  a  heavy  score  against  the  Board  in  America. 
Repair,  amounting  to  practical  rebuilding,  must  be 
done.” 

But,  although  the  Church  at  home  had  done  so 
little  to  encourage  the  Church  in  Liberia,  the  Com¬ 
mission  found  no  evidence  of  misapplied  or  un¬ 
wisely  invested  funds,  and  the  degree  of  self-help 
shown  by  the  Church  in  Liberia  compared  favor¬ 
ably  with  that  in  any  of  our  other  Mission  fields, 
and  was  more  generous  than  in  many  dioceses  of 
the  Church  in  America.  That  generous  help  from 
America  would  soon  make  the  Church  in  Liberia 
practically  self-supporting,  was  the  opinion  of  the 
Commission. 

Upon  the  basis  of  these  observations,  the  Com¬ 
mission  felt  that  if  the  work  was  to  be  carried  on 
successfully,  it  would  be  necessary  for  the  American 
Church  to  reconstruct  her  ideas  about  Liberia  and 
the  Church’s  work  there,  and  to  realize  that  the 
problem  in  Liberia  was  to  enable  the  Church  of 
Liberia  to  carry  the  Gospel  and  Christian  civiliza¬ 
tion  to  the  uncivilized^  tribes^  of_the  interior.  But 
this  must  be  done  by  Liberians  and  not  by  white 
men ;  though,  the  Church  in  Liberia  would  still  need 
the  help  of  white  leaders  in  such  a  forward  move¬ 
ment.  In  order  best  to  carry  civilization  into  the 
interior,  properly  constructed  compounds  would  be 
found  necessary.  “The  appeal  to  us  is  not  that  we 
help  strengthen  a  Mission  of  the  American  Church 
in  a  heathen  country,  but  that  we  help  the  Church 
in  Liberia  to  become  strong  enough  to  render  the 

[  88  ] 


TRAVEL  IN  THE  INTERIOR:  HAMMOCK  BEARERS 

RACING 


CROSSING  A  RIVER  ON  A  RAFT 


LIBERIAN  CLERGY  WITH  THE  AMERICAN  LIBERIAN  COMMISSION,  1918 


service  that  the  Church  must  give  the  Republic  in 
order  that  the  Republic  may  be  established.” 

Before  leaving  Liberia,  the  Commission  called  a 
meeting  of  Convocation  that  they  might  hear  the 
judgment  of  the  men  in  the  District  concerning 
many  important  matters.  Among  these,  the  most 
vital  was  the  question  of  the  choice  of  a  bishop^ 
At  a  meeting  of  Convocation  held  shortly  after 
Bishop  Ferguson’s  death  with  a  view  to  discussing 
the  situation  resolutions  had  been  passed  requesting 
that  a  white  man  be  chosen  as  bishop,  but  that  he 
be  given  a  suffragan  who  should  be  a  Liberian. 
The  matter  was  re-opened  at  the  Convocation  called 
by  the  Commission,  and,  after  a  full  public  dis¬ 
cussion  and  a  conference  with  the  leading  clergy 
and  laymen,  the  following  resolution  was  intro¬ 
duced  and  passed :  “Resolved,  that  the  Church  in 
America  be  requested  to  give  to  the  Church  in 
Liberia  a  bishop  who  will  be  a  Liberian ;  and  that, 
for  the  help  and  protection  of  the  bishop  and  the 
safeguarding  of  the  interests  of  the  American 
Church  in  Liberia,  an  archdeacon  be  appointed  by 
the  American  Church  who  shall  be  a  personal  coun¬ 
sellor  to  said  Bishop.”  Appended  to  the  resolution 
were  suggestions  as  to  the  possible  relations  of 
bishop  and  archdeacon,  and  the  manner  in  which 
the  terms  of  the  resolution  could  be  carried  out. 

Armed  with  these  documents,  the  Commission 
returned  to  the  United  States  where  the  question 
was  fully  considered ;  and,  though  there  were 
strong  arguments  in  favor  of  a  Negro  bishop,  pos¬ 
sibly  with  a  white  archdeacon  as  his  adviser,  it 
was  finally  deemed  best  by  General  Convention  to 

[  91  ] 


appoint  a  white  bishop.  Therefore,  at  its  meeting 
in  Detroit,  in  October,  1919,  General  Convention 
elected  the  Rev.  Walter  H.  Overs,  as  Bishop  of 
Liberia.  At  the  time  of  his  election,  Mr.  Overs 
was  rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Ascension  at  Brad¬ 
ford,  Pa. ;  but  he  was  no  stranger  to  Africa,  having 
had  experience  as  a_  missionary  in  that  continent. 
He  was  consecrated  on  December  18,  1919,  in  St. 
Paul’s  Cathedral,  Erie,  Pennsylvania. 

The  new  Bishop  left  immediately  for  his  field, 
arriving  there  in  February,  1920.  For  over  three 
years,  the  District  had  been  without  direct  Epis¬ 
copal  oversight,  and  when  Bishop  Overs  landed 
there  he  found  the  Mission  property  generally  run 
down  and  the  Mission  launch,  the  John  Payne,  out 
of  commission.  But  in  spite  of  these  handicaps, 
he  made  extensive  visits  throughout  the  District. 
To  do  this  he  had  to  use  every  possible  means  of 
getting  about — spending  hours  in  surf  boats,  days 
in  canoes  going  up  the  many  rivers,  traveling  over 
land  by  hammock  and  on  foot.  It  is  worthy  of  note 
that  on  this  initial  trip  of  inspection  he  ordained  five 
natives  to  the  diaconate  and  two  to  the  priesthood, 
as  well  as  admitting  six  other  young  men  as  candi¬ 
dates  for  Holy  Orders. 

The  Liberian  Church,  however,  was  not  to  be 
left  without  a  native  Episcopate.  The  Rev.  Theo- 
pholus  Momolu  Gardiner,  a  native  of  the  Vai  tribe, 
and  a  priest  of  high  Christian  character,  had  long 
since  given  evidence  of  what  the  Negro  can  attain 
to  under  the  training  of  the  Church.  The  Liberians 
themselves,  as  we  have  seen,  had  expressed  an  eager 
desire  for  a  bishop  of  their  own  race,  and  no  one 

[  92  ] 


THE  RT.  REV.  WALTER  H.  OVERS,  PH.D 
Fifth  Bishop  of  Liberia,  1919-25 


THE  RT.  REV.  T.  MOMOLU  GARDINER,  D.D 
Suffragan  Bishop  of  Liberia,  1921 — 


was  more  fitted  to  fulfill  those  desires  than  Mr. 
Gardiner.  In  October,  1920,  he  was  elected  by  the 
House  of  Bishops  as  Suffragan  Bishop  for  Liberia, 
and  was  consecrated  in  the  Church  of  the  Incarna¬ 
tion,  New  York  City,  on  June  23,  1921. 

Bishop  Gardiner  was  a  native,  a  product  of  St. 
John’s  School  and  of  the  Divinity  School  at  Cut- 
tington.  In  his  consecration  sermon,  Bishop  Overs 
thus  graphically  pictured  the  task  to  which  the  new 
Bishop  was  called,  and  for  which  God  had  been 
preparing  him.  “You  and  I  have  traveled  through 
much  of  Liberia  together.  You  know  the  field  and 
the  work.  You  are  a  member  of  the  Vai  tribe,  one 
of  the  most  promising  tribes  of  Liberia.  But  it  is 
the  only  tribe  of  the  Republic  that  is  influenced  by 
Mohammedanism.  Your  name  is  Momolu,  which 
means  in  English  Mohammed.  Your  father — a 
Mohammedan  priest — gave  you  that  name,  but  he 
also  sent  you  to  a  Christian  school,  to  learn  letters. 
You  learned  to  be  a  Christian.  Gradually  you  have 
come  to  the  position  which  you  now  hold.  What  a 
responsibility  is  yours!  You  must  claim  your  tribe 
for  Christ.  Just  before  I  left  Monrovia,  last  month, 
one  of  your  chiefs,  a  Mohammedan,  came  to  me  and 
said,  ‘The  mosque  in  my  town  is  falling  down ;  if 
you  will  send  me  a  teacher,  I  will  build  a  Christian 
church  and  school  in  the  very  place  where  the 
mosque  has  stood.’  It  is  prophetic.  It  will  come. 
Then  there  are  twenty  other  tribes  in  our  District 
for  whom  little  has  been  done  from  the  standpoint 
of  religion,  education,  or  development  in  any  way. 
You  particularly  represent  these  people.  Your 
work  will  not  be  easy.  Nothing  worth  while  is. 

[  95  ] 


The  work  is  vast.  The  task  is  tremendous.  But 
the  opportunity  is  magnificent.” 

At  the  close  of  the  service,  Bishop  Gardiner  read 
a  statement,  addressed  to  the  Bishops  assembled,  in 
the  course  of  which  he  said :  ♦ 

“This  solemn  service  that  we  have  just  concluded 
has  brought  forcefully  to  my  mind  my  own  limita¬ 
tions,  and  the  great  responsibility  I  have  entered 
upon.  To  me,  it  is  a  new  era — a  new  chapter  in 
my  life — and  what  will  that  chapter  contain?  .  .  . 
For  the  present,  the  District  of  Liberia  must  look 
to  this  great  Church  for  guidance  and  support  and 
leadership.  We  need  your  prayers;  we  need  sym¬ 
pathy.  .  .  .  Instead  of  being  ashamed,  I  am  proud 
of  the  fact  that  I  have  been  taken  from  heathenism 
and  brought  into  the  bosom  of  the  Church.  ...  I 
ask  you  to  pray  for  the  success  of  the  work  in  the 
Missionary  District  of  Liberia.” 

The  most  notable  progress  under  these  two  leaders 
was  in  connection  with  work  in  the  interior.  “This 
work,”  Bishop  Overs  wrote  in  his*  1920  Report,  “is 
the  heart  and  soul  of  our  Mission.  If  we  fail  in  this, 
we  fail  in  everything.  ...  We  have  been  hugging 
the  coast  line  too  long.  This  whole  interior  of 
Liberia  is  calling  for  Christian  teachers.” 

The  Vais  had  always  proved  the  most  amenable 
to  civilizing  influences  of  all  the  tribes  of  Liberia. 
They  early  came  in  contact  with  the  Mission,  and 
from  among  them  were  recruited  many  Christians  of 
note.  Farther  inland  were  the  Golas,  a  fine  people 
physically,  energetic  and  capable.  Heretofore,  they 
had  not  been  reached  to  any  appreciable  extent  by 
civilizing  agencies,  notwithstanding  their  strategic 

[  96  ] 


ST.  MICHAEL  AND  ALL  ANGELS’  CHAPEL, 


GBAIGBON 


FANNY  SCHUYLER  MEMORIAL  SCHOOL,  BALOMAH 


VILLAGE  EN  ROUTE  PANDEMAI 


RAMSAUR  SCHOOL,  PANDEMAI 


position  among  the  surrounding  tribes.  Moreover, 
the  Golas  had  failed  notably  to  respond  to  the  Mos¬ 
lem  approach  and  made  their  appeal,  rather,  to 
Christianity.  This  tribe,  therefore,  offered  a  most 
favorable  opportunity — an  opportunity  not  to  be 
neglected  if  Christianity  in  Liberia  was  to  be  ad¬ 
vanced. 

In  the  autumn  of  1920,  Miss  Emily  de  W.  Sea¬ 
man,  one'  of  the  American  teachers  at  the  House  of 
Bethany,  Cape  Mount,  was  detailed  to  proceed  into 
the  interior  and  to  establish  St.  Andrew’s  Mission  at 
Balomah,  on  the  borderland  between  the  Vai  and; 
Gola  tribes.  • 

As  a  beginning,  a  small  clay  and  thatch  house — 
hardty  more  than  a  hut — was  built,  and  a  school 
was  begun  with  six  children.  Friendly  relations 
established  with  the  people  of  the  village,  led  to  the 
securing  of  a  shed  in  which  services  could  be  held; 
but  within  a  few  months  of  this  hopeful  beginning, 
circumstances  arose  at  the  House  of  Bethany  which 
necessitated  the  recall  of  Miss  Seaman.  The  Mis¬ 
sion  at  Balomah  was,  therefore,  closed  for  the  time 
being.  Fortunately,  Miss  Seaman  was  able  to  take 
back  with  her  to  Cape  Mount,  the  whole  of  her 
Gola  school — fourteen  pupils — and  to  place  them  in 
the  House  of  Bethany.  The  incident  formed  a 
striking  comment  on  the  need  for  more  teachers  if 
the  Church  were  really  to  seize  the  opportunities 
afforded  by  the  native  tribes. 

In  1922,  the  Rev.  M.  W.  C.  Muhlenberg,  a  col¬ 
ored  priest  at  Cape  Mount,  was  sent  to  work  among 
the  Golas.  He  re-opened  the  school  at  Balomah, 
and  a  well  instructed  young  native  woman  was 

[  99  1 


placed  in  charge.  Three  years  more  were  to  elapse, 
however,  before  a  suitable  building  for  the  school, 
known  as  the  Fanny  Schuyler  Memorial  School  for 
Girls,  was  completed.  Within  a  very  short  time, 
the  school  had  a  capacity  attendance  of  twenty  pu¬ 
pils  and  had  become  a  definite  and  helpful  factor  in 
the  life  of  the  community. 

From  Balomah,  work  in  neighboring  villages, 
Macca  and  Dambalah,  was  inaugurated.  In  the 
latter,  the  Gola  chief  gave  the  necessary  land  and 
two  huts  for  a  boys  school  where  before  the  end  of 
the  first  year  more  than  a  third  of  the  pupils  had 
been  baptized.  • 

The  succeeding  years  witnessed  the  opening  of 
more  stations  in  the  interior,  not  only  among  the 
Golas  and  the  Vais,  but  also  among  hitherto  un¬ 
touched  tribes — Bassas,  Gbande,  Mendi  and  Buzzi. 
Pandemai,  a  far  interior  station,  was  eager  in  mis- 
I  sionary  work.  Here  the  William  Hoke  Ramsaur 
School  built  by  the  women  of  the  Province  of 
Sewanee  was  the  centre  of  an  effort  extending  to 
outlying  regions.  With  the  co-operation  of  the  local 
chiefs,  it  was  determined  to  push  out  farther  toward 
the  Franco- Liberia  frontier.  Balked  in  this  project 
at  first  by  dissensions  among  the  chiefs  and  by  the 
determined  opposition  of  one  Mandingo  leader, 
Avhose  opposition  was  finally  broken  down  and,  in¬ 
ter-tribal  peace  being  restored,  permission  was  ob¬ 
tained  from  the  chiefs  for  the  establishment  of  a 
school  at  Bondi.  The  opposing  leader  presently 
became  one  of  the  active  supporters  of  the  project. 
Yet  this  was  in  a  region  where,  even  at  a  centre  like 
Pandemai,  a  proposed  Christmas  festivity  had,  only 

1 100] 


the  previous  year,  been  spoiled  by  the  wholesale 
desertion  of  the  populace  frightened  by  the  rumor 
that  Christians  offered  a  human  sacrifice  on  that 
day. 

Work  was  also  extended  in  other  districts.  Among 
the  Bassas,  the  Grand  Bassa  Convocation  estab¬ 
lished  a  school  in  the  interior  town  of  Sartroh  where 
the  people  built  houses  for  a  teacher  and  pupils,  and 
whence  six  boys  in  November  1924  were  presented 
for  Baptism.  From  Grand  Bassa,  work  was  carried 
on  entirely  by  native  lay  workers  at  the  town  of 
Timbo.  In  the  Cavalla  River  District,  the  result  of 
missionary  work  among  the  Greboes  was  shown  by 
the  gift,  from  local  chiefs,  of  new  buildings  for  the 
mission  in  the  up-country  station  of  Gedabo.  It 
was  at  this  time,  also,  that  a  most  unusual  result  of 
the  new  missionary  activity  occurred  at  Sodeke,  a 
sub-district  of  Cape  Palmas,  when  one  of  the  Grebo 
chiefs  was  baptized.  Thus  the  Church  sought  to 
expand  its  efforts  among-  the  tribes  and  to  with¬ 
stand  the  threat  of  Mohammedanism. 

But,  as  Bishop  Overs  wrote  in  his  report  for  1920, 
“If  the  coast  of  Liberia  is  to  form  the  base  of  a 
progressive  mission  in  Africa,  it  is  essential  that 
such  such  a  base  of  operatons  be  splendidly  solid. 
Broken-down  buildings  are  a  bad  advertisement. 
They  preach  a  poor  Gospel  and  are  not  a  good  rec¬ 
ommendation  for  our  work.  On  the  other  hand, 
good  ones  are  an  inspiration.  They  are  a  necessary 
part  of  a  successful  work.”  The  adventure  of  pio¬ 
neering  among  hitherto  untouched  tribesmen,  how¬ 
ever,  must  not  blind  the  Church  to  the  importance 
of  adequately  maintaining  the  central  base  upon 

[  101  ] 


which  our  work  rests.  Some  neglect  of  this  base 
was  brought  home  to  the  whole  Church  in  a  most 
tragic  manner  during  1922,  through  the  death  of 
two  of  its  ablest  workers,  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Ramsaur 
and  his  wife.  Mrs.  Ramsaur  had  served  in  Liberia 
for  ten  years,  and  Mr.  Ramsaur  for  three,  yet  so 
effective  had  been  their  work  that  as  soon  as  the 
news  of  their  death  reached  the  United  States,  steps 
were  taken  to  establish  a  worthy  memorial  of  their 
labors.  Plans  were  made  to  enlarge  St.  Timothy’s 
Hospital,  Cape  Mount,  the  new  wing  to  be  known 
as  the  Sarah  E.  Ramsaur  Memorial  Hall  and  to 
erect  the  William  Hoke  Ramsaur  Memorial  School 
at  Pandemai. 

In  the  meantime,  it  became  necessary  in  1922,  for 
Bishop  Overs  to  return  to  the  United  States  on 
account  of  ill  health. 

During  these  same  years  progress  was  evident 
also  in  the  Church’s  educational  work,  always  the 
greatest  bulwark  against  the  advance  of  Islam.  The 
Bishop  Overs  School,  Fortsville,  made  possible  by 
the  Birthday  Thank  Offering  presented  at  the  1925 
General  Convention  was  opened  the  following  year, 
while  St.  John’s  Academic  and  Industrial  School, 
Cape  Mount,  on  its  500  acre  farm  at  Kobolia  en¬ 
deavored  to  give  elementary  instruction  in  farming, 
an  urgent  need  in  a  land  where  an  insufficient  food 
supply  and  famine  are  ever-present  possibilities. 

Of  far  reaching  importance  was  the  action  taken, 
in  1924,  by  the  various  American  organizations  in¬ 
terested  in  Liberia  in  the  creation  of  an  advisory 
committee  on  education.  The  following  year  Mr. 
James  L.  Sibley  was  appointed  Educational  Advisor 


1  102  ] 


PUPILS,  BISHOP  OVERS  SCHOOL,  FORTSVILLE 


ST.  MARK’S  HOSPITAL,  CAPE  PALMAS,  1927 


A  FIRESTONE  VILLAGE 


BUILDING  LIBERIAN  HOUSES:  “MUDDING” 


to  these  missionary  societies  and  other  agencies.  In 
his  efforts  to  better  all  educational  work  conducted 
by  the  various  Missions,  Mr.  Sibley  inspected  many 
mission  schools,  conferred  with  teachers  and  princi¬ 
pals  in  an  effort  to  secure  a  proper  perspective  of 
the  work  and  to  formulate  the  outstanding  prob¬ 
lems.  The  investigation  brought  to  light  the  need 
of  industrial  training,  and  the  work  conducted  along 
this  line  at  St.  John’s  School,  Cape  Mount,  and  at 
Pandemai  was  commended.  The  establishment  of 
a  system  for  the  normal  training  of  teachers,  such 
as  is  given  in  a  small  way  at  the  House  of  Bethany, 
was  also  advised.  As  a  result  of  these  studies  and 
in  the  light  of  Mr.  Sibley’s  recommendations  plans 
were  made  to  increase  the  effectiveness  of  the 
Church’s  educational  work  through  the  centraliza¬ 
tion  of  the  important  tasks  of  industrial,  normal, 
and  academic  education  in  large  centres  such  as 
Cape  Mount,  Bromley,  and  Cuttington.  This  plan 
in  no  way  affected  the  continuance  of  the  parochial 
day  school,  which  were  so  important  a  factor  in  the 
development  of  parish  life. 

In  1924,  the  new  Sarah  Ramsaur  Memorial  wing 
of  St.  Timothy’s  Hospital,  Cape  Mount  was  com¬ 
pleted.  During  this  year  also,  largely  through  the 
efforts  of  the  Rev.  James  Dwalu,  a  large  native 
church  was  built  at  Pandemai,  while  at  Gbaigbon 
a  chapel  was  erected,  and  at  Caldwell,  St.  Peter’s 
Church  was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Gardiner. 

Although  these  and  other  events  especially  in  the 
direction  of  self-support  were  encouraging,  real  ad¬ 
vance  demanded  the  presence  in  Libria  of  the 
Diocesan.  Bishop  Overs’  continued  ill  health  made 

[105] 


this  impossible  for  him.  Accordingly,  in  1925,  the 
sixth  anniversary  of  his  consecration  and  the  nine¬ 
tieth  of  the  establishment  of  the  Mission,  Bishop 
Overs  resigned.  General  Conventon,  then  in  session 
in  New  Orleans,  promptly  elected,  as  his  successor, 
the  Rev.  Robert  E.  Campbell,  O.H.C.,  who  had 
served  for  three  years  on  the  staff  of  the  Holy  Cross 
Mission  at  Masambolahun.  Father  Campbell  was 
consecrated  sixth  Bishop  of  Liberia  in  the  Cathedral 
of  St.  John  the  Divine,  New  York,  on  November 
30th  and  early  in  1926,  sailed  for  Africa. 

Bishop  Campbell  with  a  rich  experience  of  work 
among  the  tribes  of  the  interior  began  his  episco¬ 
pacy  at  a  time  when  general  interest  in  Liberia  was 
reviving.  Mr.  Sibley  whose  work  has  already  been 
mentioned  was  just  entering  on  his  new  duties;  the 
International  Conference  on  the  Christian  Mission 
in  Africa  was  scheduled  to  meet  in  September  1926 
at  LeZoute,  Belgium,  and  the  Firestone  leases  for 
a  million  acres  of  rubber  lands  were  being  nego¬ 
tiated. 

The  LeZoute  Conference  which  met  in  Belgium 
exactly  fifty  years  after  the  famous  Brussels  Con¬ 
ference  of  1876,  to  consider  situations  created  largely 
by  the  earlier  conference,  was  composed  of  over 
200  members  representing  seventy  missionary  so¬ 
cieties  from  14  different  countries.  Our  Church  was 
represented  by  Bishop  Campbell,  the  Rev.  A.  B. 
Parson,  the  Rev.  H.  A.  Donovan,  and  the  Rev.  John 
Kuhns.  In  addition,  the  Conference  numbered  about 
40  consultative  members  including  Colonial  Min¬ 
isters  and  Governors,  doctors  of  tropical  medicine, 
scientists,  historians,  educators,  and  philologists. 

[  106] 


THE  RT.  REV.  ROBERT  ERSKINE  CAMPBELL,  D.D. 
Sixth  Bishop  of  Liberia,  1925 — 


CHOIR,  ST.  THOMAS’  CHURCH,  KRUTOWN 


TRINITY  CHURCH,  MONROVIA 


The  Conference  sought  to  consider  the  Christian 
Mission  in  Africa,  as  related  to  the  whole  of  life — 
individual,  social,  and  national.  It  was  an  epoch- 
making  Conference,  the  effects  of  which  cannot  but 
be  far  reaching  throughout  the  whole  of  Africa. 

The  advent  of  the  Firestone  Plantations  Company 
which  it  is  estimated  will  need  350,000  Liberians  to 
develop  their  rubber  lands  presented  a  unique  op¬ 
portunity  to  spread  the  Gospel  among  a  large  num¬ 
ber  of  Liberians  otherwise  inaccessible.  This  enter¬ 
prise,  wrote  Bishop  Campbell  “has  set  in  circulation 
among  the  people  a  far  greater  amount  of  ready 
money  than  ever  before.  But  even  then,  economic 
conditions  will  not  allow  the  matter  of  self-support 
to  be  pushed  too  vigorously  in  the  Church.”  Never¬ 
theless,  Bishop  Campbell  wrote  later,  “I  feel  certain 
that  with  a  quickened  spiritual  sense,  together  with 
the  daily  improving  economic  condition  of  the  land 
we  shall  in  a  very  few  years  have  a  mission  on  the 
high  road  to  become  an  independent  diocese.” 

Thus  Bishop  Overs’  constant  emphasis  on  the 
necessity  for  self-support  began  to  attain  tangible 
results.  In  Monrovia,  for  example,  the  congrega¬ 
tion  of  Trinity  Church  which  had  built  its  own 
commodious  brick  and  stone  church,  was  now  a 
fully  self-supporting  parish.  St.  Thomas’,  Ivrutown, 
had  redecorated  its  church,  was  raising  money  for 
a  new  parish  house  and  expected  to  be  fully  self- 
supporting  by  1929.  There  was  evident  a  disposi¬ 
tion  of  congregations  to  assume  an  increasing 
measure  of  self-support  and  the  Convocation  of 
Montserrado  supported  its  own  mission  school  at 
Royesville. 


[  109] 


A  further  most  important  step  was  taken  in  Janu¬ 
ary,  1927,  when  at  the  General  Convocation  held  at 
Sinoe,  the  clergy  voted  to  relinquish  10  per  cent, 
and  in  some  cases  20  per  cent,  of  their  salaries  re¬ 
ceived  from  the  Church  in  the  United  States  and 
to  make  up  this  reduction  through  the  increased  giv¬ 
ings  of  the  congregations  concerned.  The  plan  met 
with  general  success,  and  before  the  end  of  the  year 
several  of  the  clergy  were  suggesting  further  reduc¬ 
tions  that  their  congregations  might  rise  up  and  do 
something  more.  This  movement,  through  gradual 
annual  progress,  had  as  its  objective  the  attainment 
of  complete  self-support  of  all  English-speaking 
parishes  by  1936 — the  Centennial  of  the  Church’s 
Mission  in  Liberia. 

While  the  educational  work  suffered  early  in  June, 
1927,  by  the  destruction  from  a  tornado  of  Donovan 
High  School,  Grand  Bassa,  and  the  temporary  clos¬ 
ing,  late  in  November,  of  the  Brierly  School  for 
Girls  to  permit  of  urgent  repairs  and  reorganization, 
elsewhere  progress  was  evident.  Plans  were  made 
for  a  sorely  needed  department  of  scientific  agri¬ 
culture  at  Cuttington  and  Mr.  Sibley  returned  to 
Liberia  with  plans  for  issuing  text-books  especially 
adapted  for  use  in  elementary  education. 

The  next  year,  on  May  28,  Ridgely  Hall,  a  new 
dormitory  for  the  House  of  Bethany  was  dedicated. 
Conceived  on  the  occasion  of  Miss  Ridgely’s  twen¬ 
tieth  anniversary  (1924)  of  service  in  Liberia,  the 
building  designed  to  care  for  65  girls,  was,  at  Miss 
Ridgely’s  request,  named  for  her  mother  to  whom 
she  has  dedicated  her  years  of  service  in  Africa 
rather  than  for  herself.  Two  months  later  (July 

[  no] 


15)  St.  John’s  School,  Cape  Mount,  celebrated  its 
fiftieth  anniversary.  During  this  half  century,  the 
school’s  influence  for  good  had  been  felt  throughout 
Liberia.  It  had  been  the  means  of  bringing  into 
the  Church  and  giving  a  Christian  enducation  to 
hundreds  of  boys,  a  great  majority  of  whom  would 
otherwise  have  never  known  the  joy  which  comes 
from  knowing  and  serving  Christ.  Practically  a 
new  school  since  1921,  when  under  the  leadership 
of  Mr.  Ramsaur  the  academic  department  was  re¬ 
organized  and  the  industrial  and  agricultural  de¬ 
partments  were  begun,  the  school,  in  1928,  under 
the  Rev.  W.  J.  Reed  was  striving  through  printing, 
carpentry,  masonry,  agriculture,  and  the  other  edu¬ 
cational  activities  to  fulfill  its  aim — to  continue  to 
touch  with  the  love  of  Christ  those  hundreds  of 
boys  both  far  and  near  who  did  not  yet  know  Jesus 
Christ  as  their  Saviour.  This,  too,  was  the  purpose 
of  the  Church’s  62  schools,  staffed  by  125  teachers, 
which  despite  many  handicaps  enrolled  3,500  pupils, 
more  than  a  third  of  the  entire  school  enrollment  in 
the  Republic. 

Everywhere  the  work  was  severely  handicapped 
by  the  lack  of  an  adequate  staff  of  white  mission¬ 
aries.  This  was  especially  true  in  the  medical  work. 
St.  Timothy’s  Hospital,  Cape  Mount,  splendidly 
equipped  and  staffed  with  excellent  nurses  continued 
without  a  doctor.  Nevertheless,  Bishop  Campbell 
made  definite  plans  for  the  rebuilding  of  St.  Mark’s 
Hospital,  Cape  Palmas,  in  which  enterprise  he  was 
supported  by  the  G.  F.  S.  A.  who  assumed  $5,000 
toward  the  completion  of  the  project. 

Such  in  brief  were  the  activities  of  the  American 


[ill] 


Church  Mission  in  Liberia  to  the  year  1928.  In 
closing  his  annual  report  for  1927  Bishop  Campbell 
wrote :  “Spiritually,  the  people  are  full  of  a  real 
faith  in  God,  with  a  deep  appreciation  of  the  Church. 
This  offers  the  most  encouraging  aspect  of  the 
whole  mission.  By  building  up  the  life  of  prayer 
and  devotion  we  hope  to  gain  victories  ever  more 
glorious  for  our  blessed  Master  and  Redeemer,  and 
through  this  inner  life  of  the  Faithful  quicken  every 
activity  for  His  greater  glory.” 

*  *  * 

No  story  of  the  Church’s  Mission  in  Liberia  would 
be  complete  without  some  account  of  an  important 
work  carried  on  in  the  interior  by  the  Order  of  the 
Holy  Cross. 

In  1921,  after  consultation  with  Bishop  Overs, 
Liberia  was  chosen  as  the  first  foreign  mission  field 
in  which  the  Order  would  carry  on  work  entirely  at 
its  own  expense.  In  the  spring  of  the  following 
year  Father  Hawkins,  with  two  other  priests,  was 
sent  out  to  look  over  the  field.  After  a  careful  sur¬ 
vey  of  the  country  east  of  Pendembu  (the  terminus 
of  the  Sierra  Leone  Railway)  the  Bishop  assigned 
the  tribal  territories  of  the  Gbande,  Mendi  and  Gizi 
to  the  Order.  No  Christian  Mission  had  ever  before 
approached  these  tribes  who  seemed  friendly,  and 
the  village  of  Masambolahun  which  was  selected  as 
the  centre  of  the  Mission,  was  only  ten  miles  by 
trail  from  Kolahun,  a  civil  and  military  post  of  the 
Liberian  Government. 

Here,  in  April,  1922,  Father  Hawkins  started  the 

[112] 


MISSION  OF  THE  ORDER  OF  THE  HOLY  CROSS,  MASAMBOLAHUN 
From  a  Painting  by  Miss  Rachel  Richardson 


NATIVE  HOUSES  AS  DORMITORIES,  MASAMBOLAHUN 


NATIVE  CARRIERS  BRINGING  LUMBER  FROM  THE  FOREST 


building  of  a  small  monastery  on  land  provided  by 
the  Chief  of  the  Gbande  tribe — himself  a  Moham¬ 
medan — whose  friendship  had  been  quickly  won. 
Then  Father  Hawkins  turned  his  energies  to  plans 
for  a  school  building,  in  which  enterprise,  as  in  all 
else,  he  had  the  hearty  co-operation  of  the  Liberian 
District  Commissioner.  In  the  autumn  of  the  same 
year,  Father  Campbell  was  sent  out  to  become  the 
Prior  of  the  Mission. 

Although  the  climate  proved  fairly  healthful  the 
need  of  a  physician  was  here,  as  elsewhere  in  Li¬ 
beria,  a  primary  one.  After  diligent  but  unsuccess¬ 
ful  search  in  the  United  States  for  a  young  man 
willing  to  volunteer  for  such  a  splendid  service,  the 
Order  was  finally  obliged  to  send  one  of  its  own 
members,  Father  Allen,  to  take  a  short  course  in 
tropical  medicine  at  Livingstone  Missionary  College, 
London,  preparatory  to  joining  the  staff  at  Masam- 
bolahun.  Father  Allen  arrived  on  the  field  in  the 
summer  of  1923,  and  wrote  enthusiastically  of  the 
prospects  for  work  in  the  great  demand  for  his 
services. 

Meantime  plans  for  a  boys’  boarding  school  had 
matured,  and  the  school  was  opened  auspiciously  a 
year  after  the  establishment  of  the  Mission.  At  the 
same  time  Father  Campbell  reported  a  keen  inter¬ 
est  in  the  evangelistic  work,  on  the  part  of  the 
natives — Mohammedan  and  heathen  alike. 

The  election  of  Father  Campbell,  in  1925,  as 
Bishop  of  Liberia,  necessitated  numerous  changes 
in  the  Holy  Cross  Mission.  Father  Harrison  was 
sent  out  as  Prior,  but  at  the  end  of  five  months  he 
was  invalided  home.  During  that  brief  time,  how- 


[115] 


ever,  the  Mission  had  taken  one  significant  step. 
Not  only  was  the  educational  and  evangelistic  work 
maintained,  but  the  Holy  Cross  Hospital  was 
opened  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Edgar  Maas.  This 
work  immediately  offered  an  unparalleled  opportu¬ 
nity  for  contact  with  the  tribesmen.  During  the 
first  eighteen  months  about  5,000  patients  were 
treated,  and  a  remarkable  work  was  initiated  in 
relieving  the  native  people  from  a  variety  of  dread¬ 
ful  tropical  diseases.  The  fame  of  this  work  done 
with  such  unstinted  devotion  attracted  patients  from 
the  surrounding  country — some  even  coming  sev¬ 
enty-five  miles  through  the  hinterland.  Not  only 
did  the  hospital  relieve  physical  suffering  but  it 
sought  also  to  prevent  some  of  the  people’s  ills 
through  maternity  and  child  welfare  work  and  rudi¬ 
mentary  instruction  in  sanitation  and  hygiene.  The 
work  of  Dr.  Maas  which  had  been  ably  assisted 
from  the  beginning  by  his  wife,  a  trained  bacteri¬ 
ologist,  was  further  strengthened  in  October,  1928, 
by  the  coming  of  a  second  physician.  In  addition 
there  were  a  number  of  native  orderlies  who  had 
been  trained  in  the  hospital. 

Constantly,  the  Order  sought  opportunities  to 
establish  the  Church  in  neighboring  villages.  In 
1926,  a  second  station  was  opened  at  Porluma  under 
Father  Allen.  Assisted  by  two  native  teachers,  he 
conducted  a  boys’  school  and  a  dispensary.  A  little 
later  work  was  begun  in  Borowulahun.  Here,  a 
native  teacher,  assisted  by  weekly  visits  from  one 
of  the  priests  at  Bolahun,  was  in  charge. 

The  work  of  this  group  of  missions  has  been 
singularly  blessed.  Where  seven  years  ago  the 

[116] 


name  of  Christ  was  unknown  there  have  been  many 
baptisms  and  at  a  recent  Church  festival  a  hundred 
received  the  Holy  Communion.* 


*For  detailed  information,  the  reader  is  referred  to  The  Hinter¬ 
land,  a  bi-monthly  supplement  to  The  Holy  Cross  Magazine,  pub¬ 
lished  by  the  Order  at  West  Park,  N.  Y. 

[117] 


' 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  READING 


*Fraser,  Donald.  The  New  Africa.  (National  Council,  1928.) 
$1.00  and  60tf. 

A  popular  study  of  the  changes  that  have  come  into  African  life 
through  the  penetration  of  Africa  by  Western  influences  with  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  Christian  movement  today  and  the  needs  for  tomorrow. 

*Gollock,  G.  A.:  Sons  of  Africa.  (Friendship,  1928.)  $1.50. 

A  series  of  biographical  sketches  of  prominent  Africans,  past  and 
present,  including  Bishop  Crowther  of  Nigeria,  Prophet  Harris  of 
Liberia,  and  Dr.  J.  E.  K.  Aggrey. 

*Haines,  Elwood  L. :  Poems  of  the  African  Trail.  (Morehouse, 
1928.)  $1.25. 

The  author,  who  was  for  a  number  of  years  a  missionary  in  Liberia, 
explores  a  new  field  with  imagination  and  sympathy.  “Bushboy” 
and  “White  Man”  and  “African  Shots”  are  redolent  of  the  dark 
continent  which  Mr.  Haines  has  traversed  to  good  purpose,  and 
“Trails,”  the  poem  which  gives  the  title  to  the  book,  expressesi  his 
lively  satisfaction  in  the  adventure. 

*Hughson,  Shirley  C.:  The  Green  Wall  of  Mystery.  (Holy 
Cross  Press,  1928.)  Paper,  90^;  boards,  $1.50. 

An  enchanting  account  of  Fr.  Hughson’s  two  months  venturings 
in  Liberia  combined  with  a  penetrating  study  of  the  Church’s  rela¬ 
tion  to  some  of  Liberia’s  most  urgent  problems. 

*  Jones,  Thomas  Jesse:  Education  in  Africa.  (Phelps-Stokes, 
1922.)  $2.00. 

The  report  of  a  careful  survey  providing  definite  authentic  data  as 
to  the  educational  conditions  and  needs  in  West,  South,  and  Equa¬ 
torial  Africa. 

t Liberian  Churchman.  Bi-monthly  magazine  of  the  Missionary 
District  of  Liberia.  (Vol.  1,  No.  1,  October  1922.)  50^  per 

year. 

Lucas,  Sir  Charles:  The  Partition  and  Colonization  of  Africa. 
(Oxford,  1922.)  $4.20. 

An  excellent  brief  survey  of  the  slave  trade  and  the  explorations, 
of  missionary  enterprise,  of  the  scramble  for  and  partition  of  Africa, 
and  of  the  African  campaigns  of  the  Great  War. 

*Luggard,  Sir  Frederich  D.:  The  Dual  Mandate  in  British  Tropi¬ 
cal  Africa.  (Blackwood,  1922.)  $12.00. 

Probably  no  problem  or  situation  facing  Africa  today  is  left  un¬ 
touched  by  this  mine  of  authoritative  information  which  no  serious 
student  of  Africa  can  afford  to  overlook. 


[  119] 


» 


♦Maugham,  R.  C.  F.:  Republic  of  Liberia.  (Scribners,  1919.) 
$6.50. 

The  standard  work  on  Liberia  containing  a  general  description  of 
the  Negro  Republic — its  history,  commerce,  agriculture,  flora,  fauna, 
and  present  methods  of  administration. 

♦Nassau,  Robert  H. :  Fetichism  in  West  Africa.  (Scribner’s,  1904.) 
$2.50. 

An  invaluable,  sympathetic  treatment  of  African  customs  and  super¬ 
stitions  written  out  of  forty  years’  residence  and  observation  on  the 
West  Coast. 

♦Overs,  Walter  H.:  Sketches  in  Ebony  and  Ivory.  (C.M.P.C., 
1928.)  2St 

Brief  sketches  of  Bishop  Gardiner,  Too  Wesley,  Momolu  Massaquoi, 
Father  Allen,  Miss  Ridgely,  Albert  Schweitzer. 

♦Ramsaur,  Letters  of  William  Hoke.  Edited  by  Elwood  L. 
Haines,  Jeanne  O.  M.  Cornell,  and  Mary  A.  Ramsaur.  (Pri¬ 
vately  Printed,  1928.)  $1.00. 

A  carefully  edited  selection  of  the  letters  of  one  of  the  Church’s 
outstanding  missionaries  in  Liberia. 

♦Sibley,  J.  L.-Westermann,  D.:  Liberia— Old  and  New.  (Double¬ 
day,  1928.)  $3.00. 

No  one  who  wishes  to  understand  present  day  conditions  in  Liberia 
and  the  relations  of  the  United  States,  the  Firestone  Concession,  or 
the  Church’s  Mission  can  afford  to  overlook  this  recent  authoritative 
study  of  the  social  and  economic  background  of  Liberia  and  its 
possibilities  for  development. 

♦Smith,  E.  W. :  The  Christian  Mission  in  Africa.  (I.M.C.,  1926.) 
$1.25. 

A  popular  study  of  mssionary  problems  and  policies  in  Africa  based 
on  the  proceedings  of  the  International  Conference  at  LeZoute, 
Belgium  in  September  1926. 

♦Smith,  E.  W. :  The  Golden  Stool.  (Doubleday,  1928.)  $1.50. 

$1.50. 

Probably  the  best  brief  general  discussion  of  African  problems 
especially  the  background  and  implications  of  the  barriers  to  the 
understanding  and  development  of  Africa  and  her  peoples. 

♦Starr,  Frederick:  Liberia:  Its  Description,  History  and  Problems. 
(Privately  Printed,  1913.)  $1.00. 

A  brief  description  of  Liberia,  its  history  and  problems. 

♦Walker,  F.  D.:  Africa  and  Her  Peoples.  (E.H.P.,  1927.)  80^. 

A  popular  account  of  the  country,  the  people,  their  life,  religion, 
and  problems. 

Obtainable  from  the  Lending  Library  of  The  Church  Missions  House, 
281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Books  are  loaned  for  two  weeks 
each  at  no  expense  to  the  borrower  except  the  payment  of  postage  both 
ways. 

tAvailable  for  reference  use  in  the  Church  Missions  House  Library. 
Does  not  circulate. 

[120] 


INDEX 


Africa,  mandates  in,  3,  4,  14; 

wealth,  7 ;  gold  output,  7 ;  dia¬ 
mond  trade,  7 ;  natural  products, 
7;  backwardness,  7,  8;  danger 
of  Mohammedanism  to,  11,  12; 
partition,  13;  Christian  Mission 
in,  106,  109. 

Agricultural  training,  48,  49,  102. 
Allen,  Rev.  Sturgis,  115,  116. 
American  Colonization  Society,  15, 
16,  21,  80. 

Animistic  heathenism,  8. 

Ashmun,  Jehudi,  15. 

Auer,  Rt.  Rev.  John  G.,  35,  36, 
Ulus.  37,  67,  68. 

Babo  tribe,  25. 

Bacon,  Ephraim,  21. 

Balomah,  illus.  97,  99,  100. 

Bassa,  35,  39,  49;  cove,  26,  31; 

tribe,  76,  83,  100,  101. 

Bedell,  Rt.  Rev.  G.  T.,  48. 

Bedell,  Mrs.  G.  T.,  48. 

Bendu,  illus.  85. 

Bethany,  House  of,  Cape  Mount, 
64. 

Bishop  Overs  School,  Fortesville, 

102. 

Bohlen,  Mrs.  Jane,  gift  of,  32. 
Bohlen  Station,  35,  43. 

Bolahun,  116. 

Bondi,  100. 

Borowulahun,  116. 

Brierly  Memorial  Hall,  Cape 

Palmas,  58,  illus.  61,  110. 
Brierly,  Mrs.  M.  R.,  50,  58. 
Bromley  Girls’  Training  Institute, 
50,  105. 

Brunot  Memorial  Hall,  Cape 

Mount,  59,  illus.  77. 

Buzzi  tribe,  83,  100. 

Caldwell,  33,  59,  illus.  65,  105. 
Campbell,  Rt.  Rev.  Robert  E.,  illus. 

104,  106,  107,  109,  111,  112,  115. 
Cape  Mount,  18,  43,  49,  59,  illus. 

62,  63,  64,  illus.  77,  84,  102,  105, 

110,  111. 

Cape  Palmas,  18,  22,  25,  26,  31,  32, 
33,  34,  35,  36,  40,  44,  47,  49,  58, 
illus.  61,  79,  95,  101,  illus.  103, 

105,  110,  111. 

Cavalla,  26,  31,  35,  40. 

Cavalla  Messenger,  30,  67. 

Church  Missionary  Society,  50. 
Church  of  the  Ephiphany,  Cavalla, 

35. 


Civil  War  in  America,  16;  effect 
on  Mission,  32. 

Clay  Ashland,  31,  35,  79,  illus.  86. 

Coillard,  Francois,  14. 

Connecticut,  Diocese  of,  candidates 
from,  21,  22. 

Convocation,  General,  31,  33,  59, 
63,  68,  91. 

Conway,  Miss  Sarah  E.  See  Mrs. 
W.  H.  Ramsaur. 

Crowther,  Rt.  Rev.  T.  A.,  14. 

Crummell,  Alexander,  29. 

Crummell  Memorial  Hall,  Clay 
Ashland,  79,  illus.  86. 

Cutting,  R.  Fulton,  49. 

Cuttington  Collegiate  and  Divinity 
School,  Cape  Palmas,  49,  95, 
105,  110. 

Dambolah,  100. 

Deaconess,  first  Liberian,  59. 

Diocesan  magazines,  30,  67,  76. 

Disorders,  internal  and  external, 
67,  68. 

Divorce,  national  law,  71. 

Donavan,  Rev.  H.  A.,  106. 

Dwalu,  Rev.  James,  105. 

Edina,  illus.  56,  59. 

Education,  American  advisor  on, 
102,  105,  106. 

Emery  Hall,  Julia  C.,  Bromley,  50, 
illus.  55. 

Epiphany  Hall,  Cuttington,  49,  50, 
illus.  51. 

Ferguson,  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  D.,  14, 
44-49,  illus.  46,  59,  60,  67,  71, 
80. 

Ferguson,  Mrs.  S.  D.,  83. 

Firestone  Plantations  Company, 
109. 

Firth,  Prof.,  50. 

Fishtown,  31,  35. 

Forced  Labor,  7. 

Ford,  Miss  Lois  M.,  84. 

Fortesville,  102,  illus.  103. 

Freetown,  64. 

Gardiner,  Rt.  Rev.  T.  M.,  75,  92, 
illus.  94,  95,  96,  105. 

Gardinersville,  59. 

Gbaigbon,  illus.  97. 

Gbande  tribe,  100,  112,  115. 

General  Convention,  1850,  25; 

1871,  accepts  Bishop  Payne’s 
resignation,  34;  first  Liberian 


[121] 


deputy,  71;  elects  Bishop  Overs, 
92;  elects  Bishop  Campbell,  106. 

General  Convocation,  1855,  31; 

1862,  33;  1903,  59;  1905,  63; 
1913,  68;  1918,  91;  1927,  110. 

Gibson,  Rev.  Garretson  W.,  30,  53, 
54. 

Gibson,  John  Payne,  48. 

Gibson,  Mrs.  Rosa  D.,  59. 

Girls’  Training  School,  Bromley, 
50. 

Gizi  tribe,  112. 

Gola  tribe,  76,  96,  99,  100. 

Gordon,  Miss  M.  C.,  87. 

Grace  Church,  Clay  Ashland,  35. 

Grand  Bassa,  68,  71,  79,  101,  110. 

Graway,  36. 

Grebo  tribe,  39,  48,  57,  101. 

Greenville,  54. 

Gyutu,  53. 

Haines,  Rev.  E.  L.,  76. 

Half-Cavalla,  25. 

Hall,  Hon.  James,  22. 

Hannington,  Rt.  Rev.  James,  14. 

Harper,  See  Cape  Palmas. 

Harrison,  Rev.  M.,  115. 

Hawkins,  Rev.  H.  H.,  112,  115. 

Hening  Station,  31. 

Hoffman,  Rev.  C.  C.,  25,  33,  34, 
58. 

Hoffman  Institute,  22,  35,  36,  49. 

Hoffman  Station,  35,  illus.  61,  35. 

Holy  Cross  Hospital,  116. 

Holy  Cross  Mission,  76,  illus.  113, 
112-117. 

House  of  Bethany,  Cape  Mount, 
64,  99,  105,  110. 

Interior,  advance  in,  96,  99,  100, 

101. 

Islam,  See  Mohammedanism. 

Jones,  Rev.  Clement  F.,  29. 

Jurisdiction,  extension  of,  30. 

Kabo,  53. 

Kobolia,  102. 

Kolahun,  112. 

Kru  tribe,  59,  76,  83. 

Krutown,  illus.  108,  109. 

Ku  Sia.  See  Clement  F.  Jones. 

Langford  Memorial  Hall,  Cape 
Mount,  59,  76,  illus.  77. 

League  of  Nations,  3,  4,  14. 

LeZoute  Conference,  106,  109. 

Liberia,  size,  14-15;  problem  of, 
15-16;  physical  features,  18;  es¬ 
tablishment  of  Republic,  18; 
College  of,  29,  50,  54;  grant 
from,  43;  missionary  society  of, 
37;  American  Commission  to, 
87-91;  social  and  economic  con¬ 
dition  effect  of  World  War  on, 


79,  general,  3,  14,  15,  16,  30,  34, 

80. 

Liberian  Churchman,  The,  76. 

Liberian  clergy  with  the  American 
Liberian  Commission,  1918,  illus. 
90. 

Liberian  Mission  in  1855,  30;  ef¬ 
fect  of  Civil  War  on,  32;  in 
1877,  39;  conditions,  87;  Cen¬ 
tennial,  110. 

Liquor  traffic,  4. 

Livingstone,  David,  14. 

Lloyd,  Rt.  Rev.  A.  S.,  87. 

Lower  Buchanan,  59. 

Lutheran  mission,  35,  84. 

Maas,  Dr.  Edgar,  116. 

Mackay,  Alexander,  14. 

Macca,  100. 

Maryland  County,  78. 

Masambolahun,  illus.  2,  76,  112, 
illus.  113,  114,  115,  117. 

Medical  Work,  63,  84,  115,  116. 

Mendi  tribe,  76,  100,  112. 

Minor,  Rev.  John  Musu,  29. 

Mohammedanism,  11,  12,  76,  95, 

101. 

Monrovia,  22,  illus.  23,  26,  31,  33, 
35,  39,  50,  illus.  69,  80,  83,  95, 
illus.  108,  109;  Bishop’s  House, 
illus.  70. 

Montserrada,  109. 

Moslem.  See  Mohammedanism. 

Mt.  Vaughan,  illus.  19,  20,  22-25, 
31,  35,  39,  43,  64. 

Muhlenberg,  Rev.  M.  W.  C.,  99. 

Mu  Su.  See  John  Musu  Minor. 

Native  episcopate,  87,  95;  begin¬ 
ning  of,  44;  continuation  of,  92. 

Native  leaders,  development  of,  29, 
30. 

New  Town,  53. 

Nitielu,  32,  36. 

Nmanolu,  53. 

Order  of  the  Holy  Cross.  See 
Holy  Cross  Mission. 

Orphan  Asylum,  Harper,  31,  40. 

Oson,  Jacob,  21,  22. 

Overs,  Rt.  Rev.  Walter  H.,  91, 
92,  illus.  93,  96,  101-106,  112. 

Payne,  Rt.  Rev.  John,  25,  26, 
illus.  27,  29,  32,  34,  35,  36,  39, 
67. 

Payne,  Mrs.  John,  25. 

Pandemi,  illus.  98,  100,  102,  105. 

Pendembu,  112. 

Penick,  Rt.  Rev.  C.  C.,  illus.  37, 
39,  40,  43,  44,  47,  57. 

Pinckney,  Rev.  Thomas  A.,  29. 

Pollard,  Rev.  J.  H.  M.,  47. 

Porluma,  116. 


[122] 


Ramsaur  Mechanics  House,  Cape 
Mount,  76. 

Ramsaur  Memorial  School,  illus. 

98,  100,  102,  103. 

Ramsaur,  Sarah  E.  Memorial  Hall, 

102. 

Ramsaur,  Mrs.  W.  H.,  84,  102. 
Ramsaur,  Rev.  William  H.,  75, 
102,  111. 

Reed,  Rev.  W.  J.,  111. 

Religion,  native,  8. 

Ridgely  Hall,  Cape  Mount,  110. 
Ridgely,  Miss  M.  S.,  64,  110. 
Roberts,  Rev.  Z.  B.  Seda,  59. 
Robison,  Ellis  H.,  76. 

Rockbookah,  25,  26,  31. 

Rocktown,  31,  36. 

Royesville,  Ulus.  66,  79,  109. 
Russell,  Rev.  F.  A.  K.,  71. 

St.  Andrew’s  Church,  Bassa,  35. 

St.  Andrew’s  Mission,  Balomah, 

99. 

St.  George’s  School,  Cape  Mount, 
50,  63. 

St.  James’  Church,  Hoffman  Sta¬ 
tion,  35,  Ulus.  61. 

St.  James’  Church,  Monrovia,  22. 
St.  John’s  Academic  and  Indus¬ 
trial  School,  43,  59,  63,  72-78, 
Ulus.  74,  78,  81;  84,  102,  105, 
111. 

St.  John’s  Chapel,  Lower  Buchan¬ 
an,  59. 

St.  John’s  Church,  Cape  Mount, 
59,  Ulus.  62,  76. 

St.  John’s  Church,  Grand  Bassa, 
71,  79. 

St.  John’s  Mission.  See  St.  John’s 
Academic  and  Industrial  School. 
St.  Luke’s  Chapel,  Edina,  illus.  56, 
59. 

St.  Mark’s  Church,  Cape  Palmas, 
26,  33,  35,  44,  57,  59,  79. 

St.  Mark’s  Hospital,  Cape  Palmas, 
32,  illus.  103,  111. 

St.  Michael  and  All  Angel’s  Chap¬ 
el,  Gbaigbon,  illus.  97. 

St.  Paul’s  Church,  Greenville,  54. 


St.  Paul’s  Church,  Sinoe,  illus. 

86. 

St.  Peter’s  Church,  Caldwell,  59, 
illus.  65,  105. 

St.  Philip’s  Church,  Gardinersville, 
59. 

St.  Thomas’  Church,  Krutown, 
illus.  108,  109. 

St.  Timothy’s  Hospital,  Cape 
Mount,  illus.  66,  84,  87,  105; 
Ramsaur  Wing,  102,  105. 

Sartroh,  101. 

Savage,  Rev.  Thomas  S.,  22,  31. 

Schofield,  Ven.  T.  A.,  87. 

Schuyler  Memorial  School,  Fanny, 
illus.  97,  99,  100. 

Seaman,  Miss  Emily  deW.,  99. 

Self-Support,  32,  33,  53,  109,  110. 

Sibley,  James  L.,  102,  105,  106. 

Silver  Trumpet,  The,  67. 

Sinoe,  26,  39,  54,  illus.  86. 

Slave  trade,  4,  12,  13. 

Slessor,  Mary,  14. 

Sodeke,  53,  101. 

Springhill,  36. 

Stanley,  36. 

Statistics,  44,  80,  111. 

Stokes,  Rev.  Eli.  W.,  29. 

Stokes,  Eli  W.,  Memorial  Hall, 
Royesville,  79. 

Taboo,  25,  26,  31. 

Teba  Yue  Hue,  54. 

Teblebo,  53. 

Thompson,  James  M.,  22. 

Thompson,  Mrs.  James  M.,  24,  29, 
33. 

Thompson,  James  M.,  Memorial 
Chapel,  79. 

Thurston  Station,  48. 

Trinity  Church,  Monrovia,  26,  35- 
36,  48,  68,  80,  illus.  108,  109. 

Vai  tribe,  illus.  10,  41,  72,  75,  76, 
0?  os  06  00 

Valentine,  Rev.  M.  P.  K.,  57,  59. 

World  War,  79. 


2  Ed.  11-8.  2M.  F.T. 


DATE  DUE 

.  '  3  7; 

Wj 

CAYLOHD 

p  A  1  K  T  to  INU  S .  A  . 

Supplement  to  Liberia  Handbook 


LIBERIA— 1928-36 

IN  MARCH,  1936,  the  Church  in  Liberia  celebrated  with 
appropriate  ceremonies  the  centenary  of  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  the  first  mission  in  Liberia  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 
(See  Handbook,  pp.  18-22.)  The  decade  preceding  the  ob¬ 
servance  of  this  significant  anniversary,  was  a  distressing  one 
in  the  life  of  the  Republic  of  Liberia.  The  difficulties  of  the 
world-wide  economic  depression  were  felt  early  on  the  West 
Coast  of  Africa,  and  were  complicated  and  accentuated  by 
political  and  social  uncertainties  of  no  mean  proportions.  The 
findings  of  the  International  Commission  on  Slavery  and 
Forced  Labor,  the  unrest  and  uncertainties  attendant  upon  a 
presidential  election,  the  inactivity  of  the  Government  in 
effecting  reforms,  the  withholding  of  recognition  of  the 
Liberian  Government  by  the  United  States  and  Great  Brit¬ 
ain,  and  unrest  in  the  Hinterland,  all  contributed  to  the 
difficulties  of  the  Church’s  task  in  Liberia. 

For  many  years  the  Church  in  Liberia  looked  forward  to 
the  centennial  year,  1936,  as  a  time  when  support  from  the 
Church  in  America  for  the  work  among  Americo-Liberian 
congregations  on  the  Coast  might  be  relinquished,  and  during 
the  past  several  years  plan  after  plan  designed  to  achieve  this 
goal  was  put  forward  in  meetings  of  various  local  convoca¬ 
tions  and  the  annual  convocations  of  the  missionary  district. 
Unfortunately  the  economic  condition  of  Liberia  prevented 
the  carrying  out  of  any  of  these  plans.  In  the  meantime  the 
economic  situation  in  the  United  States  with  the  resultant  re¬ 
duction  of  resources  of  the  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missionary 
Society,  necessitated  a  drastic  curtailment  of  the  Church’s 
appropriations  for  work  abroad.  In  order  that  the  means 
available  might  be  used  to  the  best  advantage,  the  Bishop  of 
Liberia  was  asked  to  return  to  the  United  States  to  confer 
with  the  National  Council.  Following  the  meeting  of  the 
National  Council  of  February,  1933,  Bishop  Campbell  issued 


this  statement  which  embodies  the  action  of  the  Council  taken 
after  full  conference  with  the  Bishop: 

For  a  long  time  there  has  been  a  widespread  feeling 
that  the  older  part  of  our  Liberian  Mission  which 
was  founded  nearly  a  century  ago  should  be  on  a 
self-supporting  basis.  Now  the  shortage  of  funds 
necessitating  the  dropping  of  large  parts  of  our  work 
in  Liberia,  makes  such  a  step  imperative.  As  the 
matter  was  discussed  at  the  February  meeting  of  the 
National  Council  it  seemed  best  to  apply  the  funds 
available  for  the  benefit  of  the  heathen  and  Moham¬ 
medan  people  in  the  hinterland  of  Cape  Mount.  This 
was  done  with  full  appreciation  for  the  desperate 
economic  situation  in  Liberia  and  the  great  difficulty 
local  groups  will  have  in  finding  support  for  their 
pastors  and  teachers.  At  the  same  time  the  sentiment 
was  unanimous  that  those  who  have  not  yet  had  the 
privilege  of  receiving  the  Christian  message  should 
be  given  that  opportunity. 

It  must  be  clearly  understood  that  this  is  no  dis¬ 
crimination  against  the  Church  members  in  the  older 
parts  of  our  mission  field.  We  are  not  in  any  sense 
relinquishing  a  single  part  of  the  work.  All  those 
who  are  now  members  of  the  Church  will  continue  to 
have  the  ministrations  of  their  clergy  and  the  Bishop 
will  continue  to  exercise  episcopal  supervision.  The 
single  difference  is  that  these  people  will  be  called 
upon  to  provide  for  the  support  of  their  clergy  them¬ 
selves;  money  from  America  will  be  applied  only 
to  the  western  end  of  the  Republic  and  for  pushing 
the  work  northward  into  the  interior  among  the 
Mohammedan  and  heathen  people.  At  the  same  time 
the  Holy  Cross  Mission  in  the  far  northwest  will 
direct  its  efforts  southwards  that  these  two  enter¬ 
prises  may  eventually  meet  and  provide  a  solid 
territory  occupied  for  our  Lord  from  Cape  Mount 
inland  to  Masambolahun. 

The  coastal  congregations  from  whom  support  from  Amer¬ 
ica  was  withdrawn  did  their  best  to  meet  the  situation.  With 
but  one  single  exception  the  Liberian  clergy  remained  at  their 
posts,  shepherding  the  people  who  in  these  trying  days  sought 
out  the  Church  in  increasing  numbers.  The  people  every¬ 
where  did  their  utmost  to  maintain  their  churches,  but  in  no 
case  were  they  able  to  provide  an  adequate  living  for  their 
clergy  who  took  to  farming  and  other  occupations  to  maintain 
themselves  and  their  families. 


The  concentration  of  the  mission  in  the  Cape  Mount  area 
and  its  adjacent  hinterland  proved  immediately  effective.  St. 
John’s  Academic  and  Industrial  School  for  Boys,  the  House 
of  Bethany  for  Girls,  for  which  new  buildings  were  erected 
in  1931-32,  and  St.  Timothy’s  Hospital  which  was  strength¬ 
ened  by  the  coming  of  Dr.  Werner  Junge,  made  encourag¬ 
ing  progress  although  understaffed,  underequipped,  and  poorly 
supported.  Early  in  1934,  a  plan  to  advance  into  the  Vai 
country,  immediately  behind  Cape  Mount,  became  operative. 
A  half  dozen  specially  trained  young  men  of  the  Vai  tribe 
were  sent  to  as  many  towns  in  the  country  to  open  village 
schools.  In  a  few  towns  also,  dispensaries  were  opened  under 
the  care  of  dressers  trained  in  St.  Timothy’s  Hospital.  The 
village  schools  were  regularly  supervised  by  an  American 
missionary  from  Cape  Mount,  while  the  dispensaries  received 
periodic  supervision  from  Dr.  Junge. 

Continued  economic  distress  imperiled  for  a  time  the  con¬ 
tinuance  of  the  Julia  C.  Emery  Hall  at  Bromley.  The  prin¬ 
cipal,  Miss  Olive  Meacham,  however,  was  able  to  secure  the 
necessary  means  for  its  maintenance.  Accordingly  the  school 
was  reopened  in  the  late  summer  of  1935  after  being  closed 
for  some  six  months.  Under  Miss  Meacham’s  leadership, 
Emery  Hall  continued  to  train  African  girls  for  usefulness 
and  influence  in  their  own  environment.  The  effectiveness 
with  which  this  is  done  was  evidenced  at  the  recent  Liberian 
National  Fair  when  Emery  Hall  was  awarded  four  first  and 
one  second  prize  (Church  schools  received  six  out  of  seven 
prizes  awarded).  The  proficiency  of  Emery  Hall  was  recog¬ 
nized  in  design  (dressmaking),  cooking  and  preserving, 
drawnwork,  and  mothercraft. 

Other  schools  did  not  fare  so  well.  Cuttington  College  at 
Cape  Palmas  closed  in  February,  1929,  remained  inactive. 
Brierly  Flail,  also  at  Cape  Palmas,  was  closed  in  1934. 

The  American  group  of  missionaries  in  Liberia,  never 
large,  was  further  depleted  during  these  years  by  the  deaths 
of  several  effective  workers,  Maryland  Nichols,  Emily  DeW. 
Seaman,  and  the  Rev.  Sturgis  Allen,  O.H.C.  In  1929 
the  mission  was  deprived  by  death  of  the  advice  and  counsel 
of  James  L.  Sibley,  Educational  Adviser  to  the  Liberian 


Government  and  several  missionary  societies.  In  June,  1934, 
the  Rt.  Rev.  W.  H.  Overs,  Bishop  of  Liberia  from  1919- 
1925,  died  in  the  United  States. 

The  work  of  the  Holy  Cross  Mission  centering  at  Bolahun 
in  the  far  hinterland  of  Liberia  continued  to  go  forward, 
being  strengthened  by  the  coming  in  1931  of  a  group  of 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Name.  These  English  Sisters  helped 
especially  in  the  work  among  women  and  girls. 

A  physical  breakdown,  in  1935,  led  Bishop  Campbell  to 
tender  his  resignation,  which  was  accepted  by  the  House  of 
Bishops  at  its  meeting  in  Houston,  Texas.  As  his  successor 
the  House  elected  the  Very  Rev.  Leopold  Kroll,  Dean  of 
Holy  Trinity  Cathedral,  Port  au  Prince,  Haiti.  He  was 
consecrated  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  John  the  Divine,  New 
York,  on  February  20,  1936,  and  sailed  for  his  jurisdiction 
a  month  later. 

Bishop  Kroll  has  many  problems  to  face.  What  about 
those  thousands  of  native  men  working  on  the  big  rubber 
plantations?  How  are  the  future  native  clergy  to  be  trained, 
with  no  school  for  their  training?  How  are  the  teachers  to 
be  cared  for,  and  the  thousands  of  little  children  who  have 
neither  teacher  nor  doctor?  There  is  not  a  great  number  of 
white  people  in  the  country;  but  they  all  have  souls,  so  what 
can  we  do  for  them?  What  is  to  be  the  relation  of  people 
of  different  nationalities  and  races  within  the  confines  of  the 
Republic?  It  is  not  generally  known,  but  in  Liberia  alone 
there  are  something  like  five  hundred  Syrian  traders,  many 
of  them  Christian.  What  is  to  be  the  attitude  of  the  Church 
in  the  face  of  an  exaggerated  and  exuberant  national  and 
racial  pride?  This,  of  course,  says  nothing  about  the  matter 
which  is  most  important  of  all — the  spread  of  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  the  heathen  centers  all  up  and  down  those 
steaming  rivers,  back  in  the  dark  forests,  up  in  those  rugged, 
jungle-clad  hills,  and  along  the  sands  of  the  Atlantic.  Liberia 
is  just  like  all  the  rest  of  Africa.  The  people  are  helpless  by 
themselves.  They  are  waiting,  waiting,  waiting. 


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